Stockholm in december, frozen.
Silence eating her. Icicled she stirred her tea.
Just a week ago she’d felt selected. Unique.
Her dreams were coming true. Only the audition first.
She could act and get the part.
There had been rumors, gossip, talk of course —
but she had shrugged and called it envy.
He had been polite.
Kissed her hand, and complimented her on how she read the part
and on her looks.
Then cold and dry — his hands, the couch, his threats and lies.
She fell and hid; unplugged her phone.
She stirred her tea again.
Me too.
As soon as I saw the picture I knew that I wanted to use icicle as a verb, and from that the story grew. For a man it’s of course almost impossible to understand how it feels to be raped by the sexual predators that men of power seems to be sometimes. So my apologies for any misunderstandings.
Friday Fictioneers is a community of bloggers who write 100 word fiction on the same photo each week. Rochelle leads and set the bar.
For those interested in online poetry I would like to tell you that we are soon making the dVerse anthology available for ordering from Amazon. I received the proof today and will do the final checks before sending it for printing.
Stay tuned.
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December 6, 2017
Björn Rudbergs writings 
That was excellently told! Very powerful.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
This is brilliant, Björn — and sadly it will probably ring familiar for at least a few of your readers. Thank you for sharing it here.
That’s the worst part of it — feeling like your talent never mattered.
Oh, very nice, Bjorn. I felt where this was going, and you took us there brilliantly.
Oh! Unexpected but powerful.
You did a most wonderful job. Kudos to you, a man, joining in on the #MeToo
Chilling. Very powerful stuff indeed!
Topical, powerful and chilling.
I think you pretty much nailed how such an experience might leave the victim feeling, Bjorn. Well done.
Simply brilliant Bjorn.
Click to read my FriFic!
Dear Björn,
For someone who doesn’t know how it feels, you hit it out of the ballpark. #Metoo. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
No need for apologies – you’ve turned a sensitive, delicate touch to one of the hardest of subjects to write about. Kudos for writing this so very well
So fitting for the horrors that are being uncovered these days. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
A very topical poem. I hope the awareness of this issue isn’t brushed back under the carpet and thought to be resolved, just because people openly talked about it once. Great poem!
Painfully timely. The corruption that seems to accompany power makes me want to vomit. Well-expressed, Bjorn.
Both deft and sensitive. And how good to be so well reminded that there are men of empathy, who see women as people.
Bjorn, you have captured it very well, and thank you for writing to this issue. I hope you will link it at Toads…it is perfect.
I am excited about the anthology, cant wait to order one. Congratulations. I know putting an anthology together is a big job! It looks wonderful!
Very appropriate for the time we live in. In conversations with friends it has become a chorus of “Me Too”. Shocking!!! People used to just bury this. Not anymore, thank goodness.
Part of the current climate in your story. Interesting take on the prompt.. 😉
A nice reading shedding light on the proverbial “casting couch”. We’ll never know all that passed on this route to stardom. The scars often don’t show. I haven’t decided on writing or not on this with the Toads. . ALL women should.
..
Henceforth ‘icicled’ will be a verb in my mind – so aptly does it convey the emotional shutdown of any human being who has been subject to abuse. Your story is so on point!
what a powerful and timely piece. well done.
What a mind-blowing tale. The unfortunate reality of many.
Thank you Bjorn for the power of your words. Must make a difference somewhere.
Cheerio!
Psychically pre-empting the Me Too movement winning Time’s person of the year! Nice.
A phrase to beat all: “Icicled she stirred her tea.” Thanks.
You are our resident honorary feminist, Bjorn, and have expressed your feelings about ‘Me too’ perfectly. I especially enjoyed the lines:
‘Silence eating her. Icicled she stirred her tea’
and .
the way you hurried over the salacious details which can imagine so well:
‘Then cold and dry — his hands, the couch, his threats and lies’.
I love the subtlety here, the hints at how devastating the experience was, how she holds herself silent and frozen and alone after plummeting from such hope, such happiness. Well done. And I liked the use of “icicle” as a verb, too.
The aspect of this piece that most strikes me is the way you capture the emotional coldness at the heart of this man’s despicable act. You have him showing no warmth, not even the diseased heat of lust. A very chilling rape indeed; a pure demand for absolute submission. No wonder the victim is traumatised.
Excellent piece on a topic that consumed the media lately. Her feeling of numbness and emotion really came through.
Powerful icy metaphor Bjorn
Very well told. And probably true on so many levels. The self doubt is the true torture. Such evil
Your use of ‘Icicled’ is very impactful. I think it really speaks to the state that whistle-blowers often find themselves in.
She had been warned, she had heard the talk, she didn’t believe – that is what naysayers will say. I say, damn them.
Wow, Bjorn. Timely. Powerful. And very creative and appropirate to make a verb out of “icicle.” Thank you. #metoo
the ‘casting couch’ so directly told.
Icicles!
Brilliantly told, Bjorn!
I think you did a fine job of it. Becoming frozen can be much more preferable sometimes, just to shield yourself a little from the awfulness.
ooooo = how culturally relevant, Björn – right on time and I bet many folks (men and women) would appreciate reading this
A very chilling and timely reminder of the real life of the real life stories that are coming out in the media now. Nicely done.
I love both reading and writing poetry.Good story and thanks for the explanation.
Scott
Mine: https://kindredspirit23.wordpress.com/2017/12/11/fall-of-our-discontent/
That was memorable and timely, Bjorn. One by one the disreputable men are falling as they’re identified. It’s about time. Good writing. —- Suzanne
Yikes! I’ve had my “me too” moments, none quite as scary as this one!