Yep! It’s Wednesday-Friday. Thanks to Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for posting the picture prompt taken by Fatima Fakier Deria. And now, my 100-word story.
Susan’s dress is perfect, tiny blue flowers and cream-colored lace. New white stockings and black satin shoes.
Last night Mama pin-curled her hair. Now it hangs in bouncy blonde ringlets around her small, freckled face.
Anticipation lights her from within.
Nine-years-old today!
An hour passes. No one comes. Two hours. A breeze rises. She puts on a sweater that doesn’t compliment her dress.
Raindrops leak from the sky one by one until mud splatters her stockings and shoes.
Mama calls. Susan doesn’t go in.
Finally, a rock tumbles under the fence.
The attached note reads, “You knew no one would come.”
Aw, poor thing. I can see all of it and I want to go to her party myself! And bring a pony.
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I think Susan would love that. Kids can be so mean to one another. Thanks,Karen
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God, that’s brutal. And I thought when I started reading that it was going to be cute
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Those empty chairs kind of begged for abandonment. Or maybe I’m just a meany-pants. Thanks, Neil.
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That is horribly sad. Fortunately, my grandson who just turned nine has had a better time of it.
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Nine-year-olds should be happy! Life catches up soon enough. Not that one can’t be happy later. Maybe I mean as carefree as possible. Thanks, James
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Somebody knew about it and rubbed it in. So she’s not popular?
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No. She’s not, but she certainly should be. Every child deserves good friends and laughter. Thanks, Larry
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So sad, especially for a child. There have been stories in the media about kids not turning up for birthday parties. Devastating for the birthday child.
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Oh! I hadn’t heard about that. Children can be heartless. Thank goodness most of us grow out of it!
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Poor Susan. How sad for her, and I suspect it is perhaps not her own fault that no one has come.
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Conspiracy all the way around. Thanks for wondering, Iain.
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Is Susan a ghost?
So much mystery and intrigue in this story!
Loved the descriptions of Susan’s Lovely attire.
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Not a ghost. Just a bullied child. Thanks, Moon
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Oh how awful! Which begs the question… why would no one come? Is she a mean girl or just an unpopular girl for no good reason… Children are horrid little beings.
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Unpopular and bullied, but hope springs eternal. I remember some pretty tough times in grade school. Children can be such beasts! Thanks, Dale
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They so can… luckily my success at sports saved me to some extent…
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My middle sister was one heck of an athlete. Me, not so much. But I could dance!
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Such a sad story. Children can be very cruel. Fundamentally I think a child’s birthday party is best attended by close family then hopefully there is plenty of love and no mean-minded guests/non-guests.
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Such a great idea, Jilly. Close family always make things better!
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Ouch. Heartbreaking. Well done.
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Thanks, Josh.
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poor girl, she can have all her cake and eat it, too. i wonder what she had done to deserve this humiliation.
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Mean kids ~ enough said. Thanks for reading and commenting, plaridel.
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I had a birthday party like that once. It rained and the other moms cancelled. At least my sister came. You do not forget these things, ever. Poor baby.
Very vivid and painful.
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Ouch! The moms should have sent the kids off with umbrellas! Nice to see you here, Tracey.
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Right? Mud happens.
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Makes me think of the song “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to.” Sad tale in the world of a nine year old and what a meanie that rock thrower is. You stirred the emotions with this one.
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That song does come to mind. Thanks so much, Irene.
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Are the neighbourhood kids just mean – or is Susan a horrible child that hardly anyone other than her mother likes? You do get them! Love the scene setting, the mismatched jumper and that rolling rock at the end adds a real tone of the sinister. Really good tale Alicia
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I think she’s just one of those really nice kids that somehow got the short end of the stick in the popularity contest. Thanks for wondering, Lynn.
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It’s true. You can have perfectly nice people who have something about them that makes them less popular than someone with more charisma. It’s unfair but how human beings work
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That was like a knife turning in my heart. Good one, Alicia, good on the detail.
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Sorry about the knife! Thanks for reading and commenting, Sandra.
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Dear Lish,
What a horrid thing to happen to a child. This one pierces the heart and socks the gut. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Kids should get to be happy. Life takes over later and sometimes isn’t so kind. Thanks, Rochelle
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That’s such a sad story. Poor Susan 😦
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She will rise up and be stronger – maybe. Thanks.
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No happy memories for Susan to reminisce. Unfortunate,
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Maybe her 10th birthday party will work out better or they’ll skip the party altogether and go straight to riding the pony Karen is bringing over? Thanks, YS
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Happy B’day to Susan. 🙂
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yep, know that feel all too well. Excellent write.
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Sad, but I think many of us do! Thanks, Jelli
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Ooh! Ow! That one hurts, especially that last line. Very well told, Alicia. I loved how you started so brightly, and then pulled the rug from under our feet. I read about Susan’s new clothes and hair-do, and thought “Lucky girl!” And then no-one came to her party. Ouch! Oof!
Actually, of course, bullying to that extent is a very serious matter. I hope Susan’s mother can find a way of helping her.
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Thanks, Penny! Bullying is just so mean! I can’t figure out why kids do it! I was both a giver and receiver of bullying in grade school until the nuns got a hold of me. After that, I no longer bullied but was a recipient for a few years. My revenge? Growing up to be a pretty nice person. So glad you stopped by! Cheers.
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Horrible. I hate how kids can be so vile and mean, often with their parents encouraging them. Poor little girl, I hope she grows up to be a gorgeous, smart, successful woman who leaves all that pitiful meanness behind her.
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What a kind thought! I hope she does too. Who needs mean friends? Thanks for reading.
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Aw, that’s so sad. When she gets older, hopefully she’ll meet many friends who appreciate her. Great story on a very important topic which a lot of us have experienced in some way.
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Thanks so much, Lisa.
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Oh, kids can be so mean. It also reminded me of a story I read in the media recently about a boy who had a party about his favourite tv show (I think) and no one showed up. HIs sister posted it on twitter, and actors from the show sent him their love, promised to come next year, and many, many people promised to come, too. I’m afraid Susan lives in pre-internet times (guessing from the hair-do). Poor kid, great story.
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Unlike the end of my story, the one about the boy and the tv show has a spot-on ending! I think kids are mean so they can establish themselves in the pack. But wowzers! Sometimes it goes too far. So glad you stopped by.
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Yeah, when it’s a few against a few, it’s easier to bear. But a pack singling one out and not one friend remaining: that’s extremely mean.
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It’s heart breaking!
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Children shouldn’t be left out in the cold. They need to be supported ~ especially by their peers. Thanks for reading and commenting Anand
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Awwwe, that is just so cruel and heart-wrenching.
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Kids can be mean. Thanks for reading.
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A positive start, but such a sad end. Beautifully written Alicia.
Click to read my 99 words!
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I wish I’d had that dress as a kid. Thanks, Keith
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Poor Susan. I hope she finds a friend…
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Someday she’ll come out on top. Thanks for reading and commenting, Trent.
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This seems so cruel for the child – I feel for her. A biting story and heart rendering tale, indeed.
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Kids will be kids ~ sometimes that just isn’t so nice. Thanks, James
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I felt like the kid who started to sit down and someone yanked the chair out from under them. BAM! It was a hard landing. Maybe we need those sometimes to jar us back to reality. Life isn’t always fair, or a bowl of cherries.
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You got that right, Russell! Thanks.
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Well you weren’t pulling any punches today. Such beautiful and dainty descriptions to start out, the clashing jumper had me worried, and then the stone landed in my lap with a jolt. Poor Susan, I’m wondering what she did wrong.
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Just plain childhood meanness. Thanks for reading and wondering, Sarah Ann. Happy first day of April!
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Why would she know no one would come? I wonder if she’s been mean? The descriptions in the first stanza were just wow.
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Hope springs eternal, as my mother would say. I think she knew but . . . Thanks, Dahlia.
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The old note on a rock message,,,, That was brilliant.
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Thank you, Dan. Thanks to my muse, it just sort of happened.
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It just sort of happened, because you have an active brain. Again – brilliant!
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🙂 And you are very kind.
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Oh Poor Susan… when I read this it made me think that the lord of the flies can actually work well with all girls.
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Sometimes I think girls can be nastier than boys. Thanks, Bjorn.
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How cruel!
This one really tugged on my heart.
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Kids! They can be so mean. Thanks, Dawn.
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Oh so poignant – you really capture that minute by minute expectation of a little girl, leading up to her party. So sad.
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