My husband works at the Texaco station near Bangle Bay beach and we only live 3 blocks from there. Because of that my husband could walk to work and leave me with our one and only car to be able to run errands with.
Yesterday, as he was walking to work someone shot at him. He dove into bushes nearby and avoided being hit. Someone up the road from his location was hit and is in the hospital in critical condition.
I will be waking up at 5:00 am from now on and driving him to work.
It's worth it.
Thank you Footy and Foodie for our photo prompt this week!
This is my 100 word submission for the flash fiction challenge, Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers. We are given a photo prompt and approximately 75-175 words with which we create our stories. It is a lot of fun and everyone is invited to participate. For more information, click HERE.
To read other submissions for the challenge, click on the blue froggy button below:
BEAUTIFUL WORDS 
Dramatic take, hope it’s not a sign of the world we live in now where you can’t walk to work without being shot at! Good story.
Thanks Iain! Thank you for reading and for your comment. In some cities this is true.
Oh Joy now we want to know why he was a target and getting up at 5am will always be a task I imagine no matter how worth it it might be….
I would say it was because someone wanted to shoot somebody. He was just in the wrong place at the right time. Thank you Michael!
Another great story with a twist I didn’t expect xo
LOL! Thank you Lynn!! 😀
most welcome
Wow that’s an awful thought PJ. Not being able to walk even two or three blocks to work without being shot at? I hope its not a sigh of things to come or things that already happen. Yes, it would be worth to wake up early just to drive him a few blocks so he got there safe. Nice take on this one.
Thank you so much Mandi! It really would be awful and in some cities it may very well be like that. Especially, Chicago.
So sad that life has come to this for them, walking and running to work early in the morning used to give me great pleasure.
There are a lot of things that we use to be able to do that we can no longer do. This story is a bit far fetched but in some cities it is the case – such as Chicago.
You’ve described the uncertainty of the world we live in today. Great take, PJ! Stay safe.
Sadly, that is very true, Sailaja. We have to be so careful these days. Thank you so much for your kind comment!
A serious voice of the times we’re living in today. Nicely done, PJ.
Isadora 😎
Thank you Isadora! Sadly, it really is how we have to live today.
I love how much you are able to say in so few words sometimes PJ! A full, thought-provoking story – in less than 100 words! Bravo!
Thank you so much Jodi! Thank you for reading and for your kind comment. 🙂
Nice imagination PJ…it is really wonderful how just a picture can make us think. Too good!
Thank you Shivangi! It is amazing how a picture can stir up our imagination! 🙂
😀👍
This was a very brutal and blunt take on the world we live in today. I did enjoy it a lot though, for being so straight forward and the ending made me smile.
Thank you so much for your kind comment! 🙂
Perfect commentary on the world today in 100 words. I live where random and drive by shootings just happen. Like your character, people, including teenage girls, are in the line of fire.
Scary twist in a well-done story. Yes, 5 am will never be the same.
Thank you so much for your comment! It is a sad thing that random drive by shootings happens and I’m sorry that you live so close to it. I wish you complete safety!
If you live in the US where guns are plentiful, the odds of getting shot are high as the # of gun-toters is phenomenal.
My next door neighbour had over 40 guns removed from his house by the police — an Italian gentleman in his late 60s and NOT the Godfather or Sopranos-type, and my landlady owns a gun and goes to the firing range to practice. She told me this a couple of years ago to make me feel safer. Knowing she has a gun makes me feel LESS safe! if you understand what I mean. The saying is Guns kill people, not people who kill people. But, no its guns & people who kill people on purpose and by accident.
I agree with you. Guns kill people only because of the people that are carrying them. Guns alone do not kill people. People kill people and people that have guns that accidentally kill people because they are not using safety measures. I do live in the United States. With some people, I feel safe that they have guns but with others, I do not feel safe because they have guns. It depends on the person that is carrying that gun. Taking guns away from people is not the answer to keep guns from killing people. The wrong people will still be able to get guns through black market and people that need to have guns for safety reasons will not have the means to keep themselves and others safe.
Oh, I agree. Some people know how to handle guns, or use them properly to hunt (a whole other issue). My landlady could panic and shoot someone accidently. Children get a hold of guns, and play with them, bring them to school and the story is usually tragic. Banning guns isn’t the issue so much as getting guns off the streets, making it tougher for people to obtain illegal guns, change some of the laws to force gun show dealers to stop shoddy paper work practices (of the mass shootings, the majority of weapons were purchased at gun shows), etc. Some thing has to be done, though, as every day now a cop gets shot, an unarmed person gets shot, a drive by shooting, and then times that by the # of places these things happen and I just want to cry.
Sorry, I grew up in Canada where the hand gun laws (and rifle laws) are stricter. But even there, illegal hand guns are killing children.
You’re right about that. It needs to be tougher to obtain guns and certainly not from gun shows! Guns most definitely should be taken off the streets. And, children should never ever be able to get a hold of a gun. I hope someday this ideal will be realized.
I share that ideal. And when enough people do, then we’ll have the power to see it happen.
I sure hope you are right and I hope it is soon! 🙂
What a heinous thing to do is a beautiful place like this!!
Thank you Joan! Yes, it is terrible that such horrible things happen in such lovely places!
I love the story PJ well apart from the scary bits of it of cause. I used to be able to walk around at 5 as well, now not so much. The world has changed, but then again change is inevitable.
Thank you Joy for your comment. It is truly sad that things like this happen these days and have limited our freedom. I hope it changes for the better!
Well we can only go up from here!
That’s true! 🙂
Powerful story, PJ. A unique spin on the picture.
Thank you Lori! 🙂
My pleasure, PJ 🙂
It definitely is worth it! It’s sad and terrifying how casually a person can take another human life. Great story!
Yes, I agree. It is very sad! Thank you so much for your comment. 🙂
This one felt so real Priceless, I had to start again to make sure I was reading fiction!!!
LOL! Thank you so much Rosey! I’m glad it felt real and that you enjoyed it. 🙂
Sorry Colleen, I might have called you Rosey by mistake.
That’s okay. I know you knew me. 😉 I call my kids ten different names on a regular basis. 😉
I’m happy to hear that! :o)
Wow, that was tense and I thought tragic, but in the end he did not die. I would do more than drive him – I’d move.
Haha! I believe you are right about that! Moving would be a better answer. LOL!
Great story and a sad testament to our society 😦
Yes, it is Terri! A sad testament to our society.
What is happening to Man ? Why the hell do they play with guns ? Is it so simple to just shoot for no reason and take a Life ? These have all been taught to man from the Wars. Man was supposed to hunt for his food, not slay other men !!
Yes, you are absolutely right. Men are suppose to hunt for food not slay other men. Thank you so much for reading and for your comment.
Very chilling thought, to be randomly shot at while going about our daily routine. I’m glad I don’t live somewhere like that.
Thank you Ali! You’re right and I’m glad I don’t live somewhere like that either.
What a senseless, awful crime. Let’s hope they can keep each other safe from now on. Nice tale Joy
Thank you Lynn! Let’s hope they can too!
My pleasure 🙂
You have successfully conveyed the social atmosphere without saying a word about it. Great write, PJ.
Thank you so much, YS! Yes, there are many cities (unfortunately) that have this social atmosphere these days.
Sad state of affairs we’re in these days – I try to remain hopeful.
Oh PJ! And at first I thought I’d missed something and that this was true for you~
Ellespeth
No, this is a fictional story, Ellespeth. LOL! I do the same thing when I read some people’s stories. I think we need to be hopeful about our future. I try to be anyway. I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving Ellespeth.
Well I was not expecting that! I’m reading Bangle Bay and the Beach and I’m enjoying it and the POW, he gets shot….YIKES! Well you’re always up before the crack of dawn anyways so driving him to work won’t be so bad…you might want to consider getting a bullet-proof car though!!! 😉 Quite a thriller of a story PJ.
LOL! I’m glad you enjoyed my short little story. 🙂
I did!! 🙂
Oh it is definitely worth it…. no value can be placed on life.
Thank you! That is so true!
It must be horrible to live in a world where you can’t even walk a short distance without fear of violence. Getting up at 5am is definitely worth it if it will keep him safe. Nicely done, PJ. 🙂
I agree. It would be horrible to live in tha type of area. Yes, it is worth it to keep him safe. 🙂