Once Upon A Time
December 16, 2015 at 1:19 pm 40 comments
For Friday Fictioneers 100-Word Challenge: 18 December 2015
Photo Credit: Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Annie was home for Christmas. She was 5-years old peeking through the kitchen door curtain when she saw unicorns playing outside.
“Liar!” Nathan called her when she told him. Coming from an older brother who believed in Santa Claus, she found it disconcerting.
Growing up, Annie would report of other sightings, too. A friendly wizard. Fairies. Elves on trees. Her mom attributed them to an overactive imagination she would soon outgrow.
After college, Annie became a school librarian and later a successful writer of children’s books.
Nathan ended up working at Walmart. By then, he stopped believing in Santa Claus.
Entry filed under: Blogroll, friday fictioneers. Tags: 100-word challenge, fiction, humor, life.
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Musings of a Random Mind 
1.
Joy Pixley | December 16, 2015 at 1:39 pm
Love the moral here, of how important an imagination is! Or perhaps you mean that only noncomfortmists who insist on seeing things that aren’t there become writers. Either way, I’m cool with it.
2.
plaridel | December 16, 2015 at 4:40 pm
joy:
i’m glad you liked it. 🙂
3.
FabricatingFiction | December 16, 2015 at 1:52 pm
Yay for Annie – I’m sad for Nathan though.
4.
plaridel | December 16, 2015 at 4:40 pm
louise:
to each its own. nathan is fine where he is. 🙂
5.
The Writer's Village | December 16, 2015 at 4:21 pm
Nothing wrong with working at Walmart other than it being a lousy company… better off believing in fairies though
Randy.
6.
plaridel | December 16, 2015 at 4:39 pm
randy:
I agree wholeheartedly. 🙂
7.
Lata Sunil | December 16, 2015 at 7:37 pm
Beautiful story.
8.
plaridel | December 17, 2015 at 9:03 am
lata:
thank you. i’m glad you liked it. 🙂
9.
Sandra | December 16, 2015 at 11:39 pm
From what I’ve heard Nathan will get to see some pretty fantastic sights down at Walmart as well. Nice one!
10.
plaridel | December 17, 2015 at 9:02 am
sandra:
you’re so right. from where he works, it looks christmas all year round. who needs santa claus? 🙂
11.
ceayr | December 17, 2015 at 2:32 am
Neat tale, with a non-too-subtle message.
12.
plaridel | December 17, 2015 at 9:02 am
ceayr:
you’re very kind. thank you.
13.
draliman | December 17, 2015 at 8:01 am
Good for her! Never stop believing 🙂
14.
plaridel | December 17, 2015 at 9:01 am
draliman:
one of the lucky ones. the others lost their sanity. 🙂
15.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) | December 17, 2015 at 9:07 am
I think it takes imagination to be successful… I hope Nathan would believe too… Maybe he could raise to be Santa Claus at Walmart.
16.
plaridel | December 18, 2015 at 4:14 pm
björn:
that will do. 🙂
17.
hugmamma | December 18, 2015 at 4:34 am
I guess the moral is…we should all be like Annie. Hey! I’m for that…
18.
plaridel | December 18, 2015 at 4:14 pm
hugmamma:
me, too. 🙂
19.
Dale | December 18, 2015 at 5:58 am
So many children are told to stifle their imagination… good thing Annie didn’t let Nathan do that!
20.
plaridel | December 18, 2015 at 4:14 pm
dale:
annie and nathan were lucky to have an understanding mom. 🙂
21.
Dale | December 18, 2015 at 4:28 pm
Oh they were very!
22.
plaridel | December 20, 2015 at 9:40 am
dale:
thank goodness!
23.
ansumani | December 18, 2015 at 10:51 am
Nice story with a subtle message. Sometimes one has to work at Walmart while they write the children books 🙂
24.
plaridel | December 18, 2015 at 4:13 pm
ansumani:
i agree. variety is the spice of life. 🙂
25.
Perry Block (@PerryBlock) | December 18, 2015 at 9:04 pm
Some people are creative and some are not. Nice sweet story.
26.
plaridel | December 20, 2015 at 9:40 am
perry:
i think it’s what makes the world go round. 🙂
27.
Tracey@WhatsforDinnerDoc.com | December 19, 2015 at 11:52 am
Never give up your imagination Plaridel! I like it.
28.
plaridel | December 20, 2015 at 9:39 am
tracey:
i’m glad you liked it. thank you. 🙂
29.
rochellewisoff | December 20, 2015 at 3:16 am
Dear Plaridel,
This story gave me lots of smiles. Good for Annie. So very well done!
Shalom,
Rochelle
30.
plaridel | December 20, 2015 at 9:39 am
rochelle:
i’d say it was good for both of them. they got what they deserved. 🙂
31.
Dawn Quyle Landau | December 20, 2015 at 8:50 pm
A sad reflection of life’s truths. Believing in magic sometimes drives us onward, and other times sustains us. Nice job, Plaridel.
32.
plaridel | December 22, 2015 at 10:31 am
dawn:
when you come down to it, we believe what we wanted to believe.
33.
rgayer55 | December 21, 2015 at 8:10 am
I’m right there with Annie. “Imagination sets in, pretty soon I’m singing, doo, doo, doo, looking out my back door.”
34.
plaridel | December 22, 2015 at 10:32 am
russell:
may the force be with you. 🙂
35.
patriciaruthsusan | December 22, 2015 at 4:51 am
Now maybe her older brother wishes he’d seen mythical creatures also. Well done, Plaridel. 🙂 — Suzanne
36.
plaridel | December 22, 2015 at 10:32 am
suzanne:
thank you. 🙂
37.
patriciaruthsusan | December 22, 2015 at 7:31 pm
You’re very welcome. 🙂 — Suzanne
38.
plaridel | December 23, 2015 at 3:05 pm
suzanne:
awesome! 🙂
39.
Margaret | December 22, 2015 at 9:22 pm
I’m so glad Annie didn’t let others’ derision hold her back. Well told.
40.
plaridel | December 23, 2015 at 3:05 pm
margaret:
thank you.