Today is my 52nd straight week of doing the Friday Fictioneers, ever since Amy from the Bumble Files suggested I give it a try. I’m very glad I did. One year of stories and pictures (each one exactly 100 words, since I’m obsessive that way) is an accomplishment but more important are all the people I have met and the relationships that I have made in the Friday Fictioneers community. And so, I have decided to dedicate this story to that idea. (I toyed with the idea of mentioning people by name, but 100 words is not at all enough room to mention everyone and I didn’t want to leave anyone out.)
copyright Ted Strutz
5200 Words
Hundreds streamed through the cafe, but Gloria chose one soul a week to get to know, then wrote 100 words about them.
Soon leather jacket—table 4 became Mike, grabbing a breather from the crying new angel at home. Lunch special—table 8 was Miles, heading off to adventure in Australia. Smiling eyes turned into Carmelita, stopping in to get her usual whenever she was in town. After one year, the notebook in Gloria’s desk held 5200 words of real lives.
Then one day:
Where’s Gloria?
Collapsed suddenly.
Stable condition.
The number of kind words that awaited her were countless.
The Green-Walled Tower 