It is that time again where I have to sit down and write whatever comes out of my head. This week’s Stream of Consciousness Prompt from Linda Hill is to use an ordinal number. As everyone knows who is an English teacher an ordinal number is words representing position or rank in a sequential order. The order may be of size, importance, chronology, and so on. Examples that come to mind are first, second, and third. To read about the prompt go here: http://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/09/26/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-september-2714/ My interpretation is the following story titled Caught Between.
Caught Between by John W. Howell © 2014
I ran across a guy the other day who was in deep thought. He was standing next to my car and he looked like he was made of stone. I don’t mean he was the color of a stone, I just mean he was frozen in one spot. He had his hand on his chin and elbow resting on his other arm which was wrapped around his chest. He reminded me of a college professor I had many years ago. The professor would stand in the front of the class in a similar pose and appear to be looking at something on the floor.
I walked up to this guy and asked, ”excuse me. Are you ok?” He did not respond to my question. He didn’t even look up. Thinking he might have some kind of medical problem I decided to look into his eyes and try again. Leaning over and looking up at his face, I could see he was in some kind of trance. “Are you okay?” I said.
He blinked and his eyes caught mine. His mouth tried to form the words, but it was clear he was having trouble getting his thoughts into speech. Fearing he has had a stroke I decided to call 911. Reaching for my phone without breaking the lock of our eyes, I didn’t know how I would call without looking away. I was afraid of looking away since our eyes were the only communication between us.
“Please stop staring at me,” he said.
“W-What? I thought you were in trouble.”
“First I need to explain. I don’t need any help. Second I am really not here so I can’t move until I fully transition to where I’m going.”
“Wait. What are you talking about?”
“Third if you interfere in my transition you will be caught between worlds. Forth you seem like a nice guy so please go away and let me transition in peace.”
So I walked away even though he was preventing me from getting in my car. I didn’t go far but when I turned around the guy was gone. I still don’t have an answer.
Do you?
Fiction Favorites 
Humorous as usual! Amazing how you can write a story so spontaneously. I enjoyed this short story 🙂
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Thank you. I guess it comes from writing every day
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😀 😀 Beam me UP, Scottie. If only that were possible. Thanks for this morning humor.
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Beam me to a room full of gold
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Nah. Too much gold isn’t good for you. 😀
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I don’t think I ever had too much so I’ll never know.
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😀 😀 😀
Less is more in that you have less to worry about. 😀
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So true. Thanks for showing me the light. 😎🍷
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😀 😀
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Fun! And I like how the ending is ambiguous — did the guy really transition into an alternate dimension, or did he just duck behind a trash can? WE’LL NEVER KNOW.
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I’m not going to tell. Thanks Michelle
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Good one…he was a time traveler from the future trying to see if that parking space was ever going to become available. 🙂
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I love this. Good one.
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Ha! This is great! 🙂 Beautifully spontaneous.
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Very clever… I liked this…
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Thank you so much. 😊
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I love stream of consciousness writing. You never know what you’re going to write. Sometimes it’s scary, thoughtful, full of imagery or just plain weird, lol.
I think your guy in this story died and the main character has some sort of physic ability. Maybe a seed for a bigger story?
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I think your interpretation is excellent. Since this was a stream, you can imagine I didn’t have a clue. Thanks Dale.
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Well done! Funny and clever at the same time. Again, beautifully done!
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Thank you Jack.
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