Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Love You To Pieces - 100 Words

Love You To Pieces
This was originally published in June 2011 on the Rammenas website, which now seems to be defunct. I hadn't kept a copy, but fortunately it was submitted in the body of an email, which I DID have a copy of. Lesson learned - make at least 1 copy of everything!

Love You To Pieces
 
It was soiled, spotted, naked of fur, with one eye missing and a leg that swung at an obscene angle. I handed it to him, and he turned it over thoughtfully.

“Wow. That's the second ugliest thing in this room.”

“Nipper was my friend, my source of comfort when the lights went out.” I touched the tattered ear of the stuffed animal.

“And you kept it all these years? I'm surprised you didn't just toss it. What a mess.”

So I laid down with him and Nipper in the hospital bed and hoped he would draw comfort from us both.

24 comments:

  1. It's the story behind it that makes it beautiful... :-)

    JJRod'z

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  2. What a gorgeous story - my nipper is called Desmond - he's a donkey... don't think I could survive without him!
    Lx

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  3. Awesome! I love snipits like this. Felt a tug on my heart just then, and that is the mark of a great writer!

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  4. I remember this one -- very nice. And good advice for us to back-up our work!

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  5. Hi Li. Yes, thank goodness you had a copy somewhere and that you were able to share it. Very poignant and loving.

    If you have time there is a new guest post up on RFW. Hope you can join the reunion on Dec 2 when we write to the picture theme.

    Denise

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  6. The comfort of childhood. Nostalgia. I do wish I could go back some days, if only to catch a glimpse.

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  7. It was going good until the end - then it turned great!

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  8. Hi JJ - yes, I definitely felt that less was more in the case.

    Laura - love the name, Desmond! may he be with you always :-)

    Stephen - a big thank you. Touching a reader in some way is what writing is all about.

    Milo - thank you :-) And yes, I'm determined to back everything up in at least 2 places!

    Denise - yep, now that REN3 is over (for now), i should have more time for writing, reading, and visiting blogs :-)Thanks for the invite and your patience.

    Heather - the child lives within us all, and it's nice to have touchstones.

    Alex - thank you! As much as I like to write, I still find myself drawn to the shortest of pieces. *Sigh* A full-length novel seems further and further away. Still, what matters is that whatever I write resonate with people in some way.
    Thanks for all of your support :-)

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  11. Wow. That was a really moving drabble of 100 words. I had a stuffed Koala (still do) whose past was a precious stuffed animal for a man's wife. She died of cancer and the Koala reminded him to much of her...so he passed it on to our family and it came to me.

    All that just to say that your piece struck a chord with me.

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  12. Great piece... I love the drabble (it was my first attempt at fiction)

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  13. Riverfield - would have liked to have seen what you thought :-(

    Hi Joe - Thank you, I'm glad it did strike a chord. It's wonderful that such a precious keepsake is still around.

    Hi Stuart - thank you :-)) I'm glad that you enjoyed it. I thought at first that it might be viewed as "dark", I'm happy that you saw sweetness in it. And thank you for all of your help and support with my writing!

    Misha- it was a good piece, keep writing! Drabble can be painstaking, but a lot of fun.

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  14. OOPS!! That should be MISH, not Misha. My apologies.

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  15. This is very cute and sweet, Li. I dig that it can still provide them strength.

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  16. It's amazing how a short piece of writing can make a reader feel so much. Well done!

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  17. Hi Li...
    I have a chain story thing going on at my place - would love to see your take on it :)
    Lxxx

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  18. Thanks John. We can find strength in the most unlikely places...

    Jamie - Thank you :-)

    Mary - Glad you liked it. Thanks for visiting!

    Laura - I've been there and done that :-))) Cool idea, will be interesting to see where it goes. Thank you for the invite!

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  19. nice story Li - sorry Ihave been away from Flash Fiction for too long...

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  20. smiles. i still have my teddy from when i was little....gave it to my son not too long back when we found it in my parents basement...

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  21. Oh, I love this! What a wonderful piece of writing. I can relate - I've loved many of my stuffed toys to bits!

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