How the Cookie Crumbles

Life and scribbles on the far side of SIXTY-FIVE

100-Word Challenge for Grownups – Week #144

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http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week144/

This week’s prompt is …the black dog walks alongside me… + 100 words

100wcgu-72

WHO GOES THERE?

Something scraped against the window. Winston bolted upright, thick Einstein-like hair askew. “Who’s there?” Heart thrashing, he gasped for breath. As crusted eye-lids unglued, he scanned the bedroom. Shadows lurked like black tombstones, details indistinct, even of his virginal bed.

Depressed for months, he’d lost interest in life and slept the indifference of the dead. He grabbed the covers with shaky hands and tossed them. The black dog walks alongside me no more.

 

In the semi-darkness Winston made his bed, showered and dressed. No need to write a note. Peaceful at last, he progressed down the hallway with purpose. The basement door sighed shut behind him.

Author: Let's CUT the Crap!

I'm getting a little LONG in the tooth and have things to say about---ouch---AGEing. I believe it's certainly a state of mind but sometimes it's nice to hear that you're NORMAL. I enjoy reading by the truckload. I'm a grandma but I don't feel OLD although I'm not so young anymore. My plan is to stick it out as long as I can on this lovely planet and only will leave it kicking and screaming!

86 thoughts on “100-Word Challenge for Grownups – Week #144”

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  1. huntmode
    August 12, 2014 at 6:12 pm

    Well now, I feel cheated, Tess. Virginal bed?! Did he lose his faithful companion, Blackie? Or was Blackie a ghost that hovered in the shadows. Why the basement? Agh! 100 words is just not enough!

    Like

  2. Darlene
    August 12, 2014 at 6:13 pm

    Timely and well written.

    Like

  3. Naomi Baltuck
    August 12, 2014 at 6:27 pm

    X marks the spot. You’ve done it again, Tess, and so very well.

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  4. The Writer's Village
    August 12, 2014 at 8:02 pm

    Too bad that Robin didn’t feel like the black dog had left him too.
    That dog really dogged him bad.
    Randy

    Like

  5. The Writing Waters Blog
    August 12, 2014 at 8:37 pm

    Tess, you are amazing with the prompts and how you craft them.

    Like

  6. Pam Huggins
    August 12, 2014 at 9:09 pm

    Yes- I got the suicide angle straight away. And yes, I thought of Robin Williams.
    So sad.

    Your sentences are beautiful and well crafted! Love them.

    Like

    • Let's CUT the Crap!
      August 13, 2014 at 7:22 pm

      Thank you. Thank you. With only 100 words + the prompt to work with, I didn’t know if I would be clear. As well, I don’t have any particular knowledge of depression but my heart breaks (although it’s difficult to understand) how a person can become so low that this can happen.

      Like

  7. Valentine Logar
    August 12, 2014 at 9:22 pm

    Tess, sort of creepy there my friend. Scary even.

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  8. ramblingsfromamum
    August 12, 2014 at 10:46 pm

    Throughly enjoyed Tess and became engrossed in your few short words. You are the 100 word master..mistress? Smiles x

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  9. Sue Slaght
    August 13, 2014 at 12:25 am

    As you know Tess I am enthralled with your use of few words to create a vision. Thick Einstein-like hair askew… would have been enough to delight me with the piece. The utilization of ‘the black dog walks alongside me no more’ tugs firmly at my heart. Depression such a constant companion that so many can find no way to be rid of. Well done Tess.

    Like

  10. Lucid Gypsy
    August 13, 2014 at 1:25 am

    I’m a relentless optimist Tess, in my head Winston LEFT the basement with a fresh determination to recover.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Chatter Master
    August 13, 2014 at 5:46 am

    So few words to capture such heaviness and sadness. 😦 Well done Tess. It captures that horrific moment.

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  13. Jacqui Murray
    August 13, 2014 at 10:39 am

    That certainly leaves a lot of questions. Did you have Robin Williams in mind–a happier ending maybe?

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  14. Jean M. Cogdell
    August 13, 2014 at 12:30 pm

    Your writing is poetic and lyrical , I enjoyed your piece and would love to read the story. Hope there’s more.

    Like

  15. Sharon Bonin-Pratt
    August 13, 2014 at 12:32 pm

    As soon as I read this I thought of Robin Williams, and you’ve confirmed that his death was your subject. So very sad that he felt that he had only one way out. I’ve heard often that brilliantly creative people suffer deeply from depression and that’s why they are often manic or addicted. Don’t know if that’s true or just an excuse. My heart goes out to Williams’ family who will now suffer greatly for this act, and for Robin himself, whose imaginative excursions could not shield him from his own sadness. Damn that black dog. Well done, Tess, to grasp so much in so few words.

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    • Let's CUT the Crap!
      August 13, 2014 at 4:28 pm

      Thank you. Thank you. A timely prompt this was.
      Indeed, It’s hard to understand how anyone can feel so low they feel suicide is the only way out. So sad for everyone. What a waste of a brilliant talent.
      I appreciate your kind words and encouragement. ❤

      Like

  16. robincoyle
    August 13, 2014 at 3:46 pm

    Oh, gosh! Then what happened!!?!??!

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  17. Tom Merriman
    August 13, 2014 at 3:59 pm

    I feel it’s the ‘no need to write a note’ that explains where this is going, Tess… but I’m with some of the others and since the black dog had left Winston, he’d pulled himself together and gone on to happier things. The basement door sighing is like the curtain call to what had gone before, yet breathing new life into what is to come.

    Well written once again!

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  18. D.G.Kaye
    August 13, 2014 at 7:50 pm

    This sad tale makes me thing of dear Robin Williams. Call me crazy?

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  19. joannesisco
    August 13, 2014 at 9:09 pm

    You have a remarkable talent to invoke such deep emotions in under 100 words. This was another example of your powerful writing.
    I literally gasped at the ending.

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  20. lorrainefort
    August 14, 2014 at 12:18 pm

    “slept the indifference of the dead”…powerful imagery…you hit it powerfully.

    Like

  21. thehappyhugger
    August 15, 2014 at 2:42 am

    As I am a person who works very hard at keeping the black dog at bay – this writing was a perfect description of that darkness. Really good writing Tess. ❤

    Like

    • Let's CUT the Crap!
      August 15, 2014 at 8:57 am

      Thanks so MUCH. I don’t know about depression and tried to imagine sinking to the bottom. I hadn’t thought about it before this week. Now I feel for anyone who has been dealt such a heavy hand. ❤ ❤ ❤

      Like

  22. sheridegrom - From the literary and legislative trenches.
    August 15, 2014 at 2:54 am

    The brilliance of this piece is over-whelming. The black dog never comes when you call, will not sit when you tell it to do so, begs for food when he shouldn’t and then when he get’s it he’ll hide it in your favorite garden. There’s no controlling the black dog. He serves no master but rather his own self.

    Like

    • Let's CUT the Crap!
      August 15, 2014 at 9:01 am

      Thank you, Sheri. ❤ I am at a loss how to thank you for your kind words. Sure everyone gets depressed or overwhelmed but I cannot imagine what it's like to have to fight this illness every day. Must be horrible. I say no wonder such a person wants to be done with such a life, but my mind cannot fathom it.

      Like

  23. jfb57
    August 15, 2014 at 5:44 am

    This is stunning writing Tess & I’m so glad it had a ‘happy ending’! Thank you for joining 100wcgu!

    Like

  24. Kate Loveton
    August 19, 2014 at 9:13 pm

    This is one of the best pieces I’ve read since I’ve been reading writing blogs. An economy of words, and yet how well you managed to tell the tale of that black dog, depression. So sad… no one to leave a note for, and the doors sighed behind him… Simply beautiful, simply amazing.

    Like

  25. Kate Loveton
    August 19, 2014 at 9:15 pm

    I just tweeted this – I think you hit a home run with this one, Tess.

    Like

  26. jjspina
    September 5, 2014 at 8:16 pm

    Ooh, creepy! Thank you for stopping by my blog. I enjoyed your post.

    Like

  27. Delft
    November 2, 2014 at 5:33 pm

    To me this reads like a suicide. I wonder if that is how it happens, that people just wake up, and “the decision” is taken?
    Nicely handled.
    And I like he “slept the indifference of the dead”.

    Like

    • Let's CUT the Crap!
      November 3, 2014 at 2:01 pm

      This was written following Robin Williams’ suicide, and you are correct. These things don’t come up at once. Life is hell and then once a decision is made, they don’t waste time or so I understand. They’ve already been turning over in their mind how the end will be made.

      Like

      • Delft
        November 3, 2014 at 2:58 pm

        Perhaps the saddest thing there is.
        I hope for everyone in this situation, that the “peaceful at last” is also true.

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      • Let's CUT the Crap!
        November 4, 2014 at 8:20 am

        Indeed. I hope so. A dear friend of mine’s family member committed suicide and the thing is I didn’t know him but have been turned inside out by this. When I learned his story, I felt I could understand why but still, it’s a terrible loss.

        Like