Nostalgia
December 5, 2018 at 9:19 am 55 comments
For Friday Fictioneers 100-Word Challenge: 7 December 2018
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| Photo Credit: Dawn M. Miller |
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Home was the village he left behind many years ago. The holidays only made him miss it more.
Roberto thought of what his cousin told him on the day he went to America.
“Look around and pay close attention to what you’re seeing,” he said before they took the train to the airport. “Remember everything since it’s going to be a long time before you come back.”
As an old man, Roberto returned to the village he barely recognized. The beloved and the familiar were gone including the family farm where a mall now stood. Nothing remained except the memories.
Entry filed under: Blogroll, friday fictioneers. Tags: 100-word challenge, fiction, holiday blues, homesickness.
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Musings of a Random Mind 
1.
Jade M. Wong | December 5, 2018 at 10:02 am
How bittersweet…he got to return to his first home but it’s changed beyond recognition.
2.
plaridel | December 5, 2018 at 4:30 pm
jade:
nothing lasts forever.
3.
lisarey1990 | December 5, 2018 at 11:19 am
I agree, very bittersweet tale. I’m glad he has the memories though.
4.
plaridel | December 5, 2018 at 4:29 pm
lisa:
if anything, memories will last for as long as we can remember them.
5.
neilmacdon | December 5, 2018 at 12:08 pm
sometimes it’s best not to look back
6.
plaridel | December 5, 2018 at 4:29 pm
neil:
great advice. there was this quote that says if you’re depressed you’re living in the past; if you’re anxious, you’re living in the future; and if you’re at peace, you’re living the present.
7.
jillyfunnell | December 5, 2018 at 1:26 pm
At least he took that good advice and memorised his home.
8.
plaridel | December 5, 2018 at 4:29 pm
jilly:
i totally agree.
9.
Magaly Guerrero | December 5, 2018 at 10:01 pm
Thank goodness for the memories. Going back home, after so many year, can leave us heartbroken otherwise.
10.
plaridel | December 6, 2018 at 11:17 am
megaly:
it’s a double-edged sword indeed.
11.
anuragbakhshi | December 5, 2018 at 10:54 pm
The price of progress đŸ˜¦
12.
plaridel | December 6, 2018 at 11:18 am
anurag:
that’s reality for you. đŸ™‚
13.
Sandra | December 6, 2018 at 2:45 am
It’s never going to be the same. And it isn’t always going to be better either.
14.
plaridel | December 6, 2018 at 11:19 am
sandra:
i guess that’s the pragmatist’s point of view.
15.
draliman | December 6, 2018 at 2:51 am
After so long, with “progress” what it is, maybe it would have been best to not go back and just let it live in his memories.
16.
plaridel | December 6, 2018 at 11:21 am
draliman:
eaactly. as one writer pointed out, one can never go home again.
17.
Kestril Trueseeker | December 6, 2018 at 3:50 am
Memories can be a blessing when they comfort us, but they can also be a curse if they make us long for what can never be again.
18.
plaridel | December 6, 2018 at 11:22 am
kestril:
i fully agree.
19.
Fabricating Fiction/Louise Jensen | December 6, 2018 at 3:52 am
Such a universal story
20.
plaridel | December 6, 2018 at 11:24 am
louise:
yes, it’s something we experience one way or another.
21.
rochellewisoff | December 6, 2018 at 4:30 am
Dear Plaridel,
At least Roberto has his memories. Little consolation as he’s observing the strip mall, I’m sure. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
22.
plaridel | December 6, 2018 at 11:26 am
rochelle:
it’s something that can’t be undone. he has to live with it.
23.
Iain Kelly | December 6, 2018 at 5:23 am
The march if time can’t be stopped.
24.
plaridel | December 6, 2018 at 11:28 am
iain:
… and the best way to deal with it is just to accept it.
25.
Keith's Ramblings | December 6, 2018 at 5:42 am
At least the memories haven’t been taken away.
Click to read my FriFic tale!
26.
plaridel | December 6, 2018 at 11:29 am
keith:
if anything, it can be a consolation of sorts.
27.
Dale | December 6, 2018 at 9:51 am
When they say you can never go home, they must be talking about this… too many changes after so much time…. A sad reality for many.
Well done.
28.
plaridel | December 6, 2018 at 11:31 am
dale:
i guess when you leave nothing stands still. you change and those left behind change, too.
29.
Dale | December 6, 2018 at 11:53 am
So true.
30.
theministryofshrawleywalks | December 6, 2018 at 11:59 am
I guess thats called progress, the concreting of the greenbelts and ripping out their very souls
31.
plaridel | December 7, 2018 at 3:16 pm
dom:
for better or worse? that’s the question.
32.
Alice Audrey | December 6, 2018 at 2:00 pm
I feel that way about a couple of the places where I used to live.
33.
plaridel | December 7, 2018 at 3:16 pm
alice:
me too.
34.
Alicia Jamtaas | December 6, 2018 at 4:02 pm
Oh, good thing his cousin told him to take pictures in his mind’s eye. I have a few of those myself.
35.
plaridel | December 7, 2018 at 3:15 pm
alicia:
thank goodness, he did it. otherwise, he’d come with nothing at all. đŸ™‚
36.
Abhijit Ray | December 6, 2018 at 8:38 pm
Times change as do people and places. Now America is more like home than the village Roberto left long ago.
37.
plaridel | December 7, 2018 at 3:14 pm
abhijit:
like they say, home is the place where your heart is.
38.
pennygadd51 | December 7, 2018 at 4:03 am
Our sense of home is mysterious and a rich topic to explore in fiction. Nice story.
39.
plaridel | December 7, 2018 at 3:14 pm
penny:
i think it all began in the garden of eden.
40.
Liz Young | December 7, 2018 at 6:50 am
A lifetime away changes everything.
41.
plaridel | December 7, 2018 at 3:14 pm
liz:
like they say, the the only constant in life is change.
42.
Brenda's Thoughts | December 7, 2018 at 7:57 am
I’m so glad he has his memories. You can never go home, as the saying goes. I am amazed at how my hometown changes every time I visit. Lovely story!
43.
plaridel | December 7, 2018 at 3:13 pm
brenda:
i fully agree. nothing stands still it seems.
44.
JoHawkTheWriter | December 7, 2018 at 9:18 pm
The sentiment that you can never go home is manifest in this piece. Nice.
45.
plaridel | December 11, 2018 at 2:11 pm
jo:
thank you for the generous comment. much appreciated.
46.
granonine | December 8, 2018 at 7:58 am
Big dose of nostalgia there. Nicely paced, lots of time passing is clearly felt.
47.
plaridel | December 11, 2018 at 2:11 pm
linda:
i’m glad you liked it. thank you.
48.
Violet Lentz | December 8, 2018 at 8:31 am
I believe this is why they say, ‘home is where the heart is.’ Because as you so poignantly showed us, nothing else you remember might be there….
49.
plaridel | December 11, 2018 at 2:11 pm
violet:
thanks for reading and the nice comment. much appreciated.
50.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) | December 9, 2018 at 9:16 am
Sometimes memories are sufficient… I hope he could keep them despite the knowledge that all was gone.
51.
plaridel | December 11, 2018 at 2:10 pm
björn:
memories are all he has now. hopefully, he doesn’t forget the good ones.
52.
Russell Gayer | December 10, 2018 at 1:56 pm
It only takes a few years for the landscape to change tremendously. Some of the towns within a short drive of here look nothing like they did in my childhood–but the memories remain–and they are sweet.
53.
plaridel | December 11, 2018 at 2:10 pm
russell:
sweet memories – those are nice to have as we grow older.
54.
Dawn M. Miller | December 11, 2018 at 2:43 am
I was just talking to someone recently that moved here from another country forty years ago and when she went home last year everything had changed.
55.
plaridel | December 11, 2018 at 2:09 pm
dawn:
time marches on. nothing stays the same.