Friday Fictioneers is a writing challenge hosted by the talented Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Writers from near and far use the photo prompt provided to create a 100 word piece of fiction. Click the frog below this post to add your own story and check out everyone’s submissions.
Copyright – Melanie Greenwood
I seem to be seeing the brain, specifically my mom’s brain, in every challenge lately.
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Her thoughts and movements were like a troupe of actors reinventing themselves, weaving through the maze of roles that were new and more difficult to them. Their greeness kept her trapped in a maddening script of continuous wrong turns. Lefts pretended to be rights and rights swore they were lefts. She shuffled and bumped into the shadowed corners of their stage, stuck until the faint memory shone through and illuminated her mark, briefly. When darkness returned, as it would today, tomorrow, and always, rehearsal began again. She’d practice, not knowing the curtain would fall before she ever perfected her part.
The frustration is palpable.
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The way you describe what went on with your mom is amazing
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Thank you Nancy!
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This is so sad. It seems to be describing the devastating effects of dementia.
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Very close indeed. It is based on the behavior of my mother who suffered a brain injury after having a heart attack and getting no oxygen for over 10 minutes.
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Thats very sad. Bless her heart.
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This is really moving.
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Thank you!
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I am sadly reminded of my mother, who paced the halls of the retirement center after a stroke, always looking for the exit. Powerfully done. 🙂
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Thank you so much. I’m sorry about your mother. That is so painful to witness. 20 years later I’m finally able to write about the experience of caring for my mother as she lived with her brain injury. Good therapy I suppose : )
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Excellent! powerful writing.
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Thank you Sandra!
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Very sad, I can imagine the frustration of someone battling something like this, making life a confusion. I loved your analogy of actors in rehearsal.
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Thank you! It is sad to see how any task can be a monumental challenge for someone with a brain injury.
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Wow, interesting piece and take on this. I like how you’ve pulled me into the character of this woman. Your metaphor of her as a troupe of actors is clever and insightful. This is a very real type of personality, a person lost but still taking positions and roles but never quite committing. Poetic.
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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Thank you for reading and your kind words!
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🙂
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My dad had dementia. There were new characters in his play everyday. The onset must be really strange, when you first realize that you no longer know where the plate is and every pitch is high and outside. Very real and well written.
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Thank you. I’m so sorry about your dad. Seeing him go through that must have been difficult to witness. My mom suffered a brain injury at 50 and much of what I write is inspired by the battles she had with her body and mind until she died 4 years later. The brain is fascinating and terrifying.
Chris
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I saw this happen with my father – a slowly developing tragedy. Well written.
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Thank you Liz. I’m so sorry about your father.
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It’s such a cruel condition. To lose touch with reality because of a damaged or diseased brain is heart-breaking. Sensitively told, and obviously a very real experience for you and your family.
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Thank you Margaret. That floating between knowing and not knowing is hard to bear and watch. Cruel is the best way to describe it.
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Dear JTS,
Haunting description of what it must be like. Beautifully written.
shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you Rochelle
Chris
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There are times in life when ‘practice makes perfect’ just never happens… but that does not negate the skills learned nor the excitement, nor the fun and fulfillment one can have!
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Such a great analogy for reinventing ourselves on the stage when it becomes a maze.
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Thank you!
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Chilling reality. Nice.
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Thank you!
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you’re totally welcome.
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So well written and full of emotion.
Well done!
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Thank you so much!
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