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A quote: “A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. There will be sleeping enough in the grave.” ~~ Benjamin Franklin
I’ll start with a story …
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Dawn broke crisp and clear, and the weather promised another warm day. The resort attendants were busy by first light. The halls didn’t sweep themselves you know.
The huge kitchen gleamed in anticipation of early breakfast orders. Sand was raked and lounge chairs positioned for sunning and watching the ocean. The bar inventory was checked, wine glasses and tumblers sparkled.
The resort owners had been brilliant in their design for total self-sufficiency. Completely modern, completely off-the-grid.
No matter that 25 years had passed since any human guests. The attendants had their programing and purpose, and each morning dawned the same.
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Now, it’s your turn.
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. featured image, cropped, Adobe Stock standard license.
[…] post Friday Fiction: 100 Word Challenge appeared first on Victory Girls […]
Cameron says: I gestured at the man to remain sitting as I approached him. “So you’ve heard of parallel worlds?”
“Of course,” he said with a smile. “Always a good bit of fiction.”
“It’s not fiction. You accept our offer, you travel to another world where you were never born. We will integrate you and come up with an identity. Or you can refuse and we send you wherever you’d like. But understand that the choice is final.”
“And the world I’ll travel to?”
“Mostly like this one but no one will know you.”
“Let me finish my drink and I’ll go.”
Andrew says: I went to the resort alone, by myself.
The woman next to me said “Lying on the beach is actually not so fun. It’s hard to read because of the sun, even with those things. And everything has sand in it, my eyes, the french fries I ordered—even this coffee. And the surf is so calm, there’s no reason to go in the water.”
“Yes,” I said, “but in a few hours you can leave the beach and go back to your air conditioned room. And you can shower and lie on the clean white duvet. That’ll be so good. It’ll be worth lying here in the noon sun and the blowing sand.”
“So worth it” my wife said.
dribbl3r says: “May I share your umbrella?”
“Of course, since all the other umbrellas are taken,” I replied sarcastically.
“Come here often?” he asked absently.
“Every morning. Coffee, sunrise and I are good friends. My refill is coming. It is excellent coffee.”
“Have the staff trained, then?” Quickly glancing at me, he looked out toward the horizon.
The sunrise was exquisite. The gulls performed their aerial acrobats with precision.
“Indeed… I own the place.”
“Wait…you’re Ginger O’Dare?” His elegant right eyebrow cocked, looking me full in the face..
“Own it, don’t run it.” His face was exquisite. Just who was he?”
All my friends could talk about was their Spring Break trips to Miami Beach, to the Bahamas, to Hawaii. Tropical sun and surf, lazy days sipping umbrella drinks, and a great tan to show off when they got back to school.
I was seeing plenty of beach, but I wasn’t exactly lying out on it. Dad had found me a job getting stuff ready at the Palisades Park beach. So I got to pick up litter and rake the sand, then set up so many beach umbrellas I’d lost count. Right now Lake Michigan was still way too cold to even think about going for a swim, but by Memorial Day the crowds would be heading up the Kennedy, looking for fun. And the beach had better be ready for them when they arrived.
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