Show Must Go On

fictionspawn Aak,

Show Must Go On

I’m lost, I’m lost! I’m lost in the woods! Oh, where do I go now!

Jimmy had been standing there watching as the crowd had gathered around him. As the story moved on, he could feel the despair of the beautiful woman on the scenery as if it was his own, feeling her fight to find a way out of the dark, haunted forest, her fear of the creature lurking in the dark.

An imp came running out from between the trees.

I can help you, fair lady! He said, and she let him take her hand. Jimmy stood watching as they disappeared in a distance. He was alone between the trees. The crowd was gone.

Wait! He shouted, but both the little man and the beauty were gone. Darkness fell. He could hardly see in the dense woods. Help! Somebody help me!

Something moved in the bushes. He started walking faster, away from whatever was watching him. He looked over his shoulder. It hid behind a tree. Cold sweat emerged in his neck. He started running.

He saw a house in a distance. A lonely light in the darkness. Footsteps were following just behind him. He could feel a breath in the back of his head. He fell onto the door.

Come in! He heard from inside. He entered. Whoever it was, he preferred anyone before the creeping shadow in the woods..

An old man was sitting by a table, looking at him with a friendly smile.

You’re lost, are you?

I am. Jimmy sent an anxious look at the closed door.

Don’t worry, it won’t come in here. You’re safe now.

I was watching a play…

Ah, the show! The wonderful play of life! Such a beauty, such intrigue, such comedy. It’s old, you know. Older than you and, me, older than these trees, these hills. It’s as old as the darkness of the woods.

I… Jimmy wasn’t sure what the old man was talking about.

But it’s not your play, this one. Yours is another. Look! Behold the scenery!

Jimmy looked out of the window. He could see his wife with a little child in her arms. His child, still unborn.

That is the play you are supposed to play, said the old one. That is the role picked out for you.

Jimmy was back in town. It was dark, and everyone had gone home. The portable scenery was gone, too. Or had it ever been there? Jimmy didn’t know. He turned and left for home, where his wife was waiting.

Waiting for him to play his part.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre

http://thecolemind.com/flash-fiction-friday-the-theater/

The Last Trick of the Illusionist

Published by fictionspawn Aak

Norwegian trilingual writer and illustrator. Contact information in my Gallery.

27 Comments

    1. I guess there’s a time for everything. Jimmy here just realised he was good where he was, and the frustration left him. Sometimes we have to go chase our dreams, other times we have to play the role we’re given. Life’s like that. Thanks, George!

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  3. Great story! It flows very well, and I really liked the ending. The last sentence is great too.

    My only suggestion would be on the dialogue tags. “Wait! [h]e shouted,”

    I would also put quotation marks around dialogue for easier reading.

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    1. Thank you! So you’re saying I should use minuscule letters after exclamation marks… I didn’t know that was allowed.
      The dialogues will probably stay as they are on this blog, it’s a desicion made in the beginning. It’s more interesting to write this way, but sometimes I might fail to make things clear.

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  9. Yes, all the world’s a stage and all men play many parts in their time.

    Some are free to choose their particular parts while still others must accept the parts they’ve been given.

    As Shakespeare also said, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.”

    Wonderfully written story with great insights into life and the comparison of life with a dramatic stage play.

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