Copyright Luther Siler
He plays dead, face down in the school playground as the cackling witch circles above, black cloak billowing behind her.
But suddenly she’s beside him, jabbing him with her broomstick, and his screams wake his father.
Gentle hands lift, cuddle, reassure.
It was a nightmare – it’s over now, son.
Sixty years later he’s playing dead on the shopping mall floor, gazing into the sightless eyes of a young woman.
The cackling of AK-47’s pauses once more.
Footsteps… then another ‘broomstick’ jabs him in the back, making him gasp.
And he hears his father’s distant voice.
It’s over now, son.
The Friday Fictioneers spread their wings once more under the graceful tutelage of Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Apologies for another grim story this week, but in the skies above where I live, (close to several RAF bases), there’s the constant drone of Tornados these days, and it’s difficult to steer away from darker thoughts. Must try harder…
castelsarrasin 
What a brilliant little write – didn’t see that last line coming….
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Thank you Sue! 🙂
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topical – thoughtful
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Thanks Tony.
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Dear Sandra,
A daymare that seems to be happening repeatedly all over the world. Heartbreaking, gut-wrenching and thought provoking. Well written as always.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I didn’t actually realise until this morning when I googled it, that there is such a word as ‘daymare’. The ‘nightmare’ was my earliest recollection of having bad dreams – I must have been about six and it’s stayed with me. Recent events have brought it back to me. Thanks for reading, Rochelle, I appreciate your comments.
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A very powerful story and a sad reflection of the current state of our world. Well written as always.
Dee
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Thanks Dee, good to see you again. 🙂
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This was frightenly realistic, Sandra, because of the horrendous things happening these days that we constantly see on TV and read about in the newspapers. Well written as always. — Suzanne
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Yes, these are depressing times, Suzanne. We have to work through them.
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This is incredible. Beautiful, heart-stopping, terrifying and comforting all at once. Stunning piece of writing.
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Thank you! I’m so glad you liked it.
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Jings!
Immensely potent piece of work, Sandra.
You reach new heights on a regular basis, and this is as good as anything I have seen from you.
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“Jings”! I love that! My aunt (who hailed from Dundee) used to say that, only it sounded more like “Jengs” the way she said it. Thank you for your lovely comment CE – missed your input last week.
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Brilliant! I am happy he died remembering his father, but it is sad the way he went.
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Thanks for reading. 🙂
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Wow, this is chilling to the core.
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Thank you!
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Oh so brilliantly done, Sandra. I have had a daymare that actually ended up happening in real life. Makes me wonder if it were more of a premonition…
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Seriously spooky, Dale. 😦 thanks for reading.
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Can we stop such daymares from occuring again please ?!
The jab of the “broomstick” sixty years later …very well written.
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I wish we could, ansumani. Thanks for reading.
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Well delivered commentary of life in the early 21st century. Bravo.
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Sadly so. Thanks for reading Patrick.
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Enjoyed this one, despite the traumatic content.
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Thanks Paul.
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A nightmare coming true.. I really like that parallel with the cackling witch and the terrorist woman…
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Ah! I never thought of the terrorist as a woman… that’s interesting.
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After having such a case recently… It does seem plausible
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Hi Sandra. What’s going on in today’s world you depict beautifully. Last line is touching, comforting.
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Thanks Indira. 🙂
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sad story. one nightmare after another until reality finally bites.
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Thanks for reading plaridel.
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And the beat goes on. Perfect reptition of “it’s over now, son.”
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I think short fiction lends itself well to repetition, but it does use up the wordcount so. 😦
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He was playing dead and then gasped when poked so I am thinking he survived. We live in a crazy world right now.
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I imagined that the gasp gave the game away, and that he didn’t, Deborah. We certainly do live in a weird world.
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That caught me. Not just the timeliness of it, but the timelessness between generations and the link between a child’s play and the end of life.
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Thanks for reading Perry. Hope it didn’t depress you! 🙂
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Brilliant Sandra. All the more powerful as we are hearing of these kinds of events occurring too frequently in newsbroadcasts. The repetition of the lines “it’s over now son” with different meanings on both occasions really packs a punch.
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Oh that is horrible and unfortunately too real.
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Very well written – I felt chills as I reached the end.
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I hate that we all understand this daymare. Let there be peace on earth.
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This one stirs me up, Sandra. So frightening and all too real here, but very well written and told. I second Tracey’s statement – Let there be peace on Earth.
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Unfortunately such daymares can happen anywhere is this troubled planet. Chilling end to the story.
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That made me shudder – it could happen to any of us!
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Very powerful. These scenes keep recurring in real life, that it has become a nightmare as well as a daymare for many of us.
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That was a gripping story. I love the parallel you draw between a child’s nightmare and the nightmarish reality of the terrorism we must endure in our world today. Powerfully told.
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I wish there was something to get our minds off of topics such as this but I am afraid that would require sticking our heads in the sand.
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Brutal – loved the memory flash-back work here. Well done.
KT
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Two stories… same endings.. yet VERY different! Well done!
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