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Nearly Wasn’t

Forestwood

Phoebe feeling lazy, frowned.

“I did it yesterday. Ask Darren.”

Mum was insistent.

“It’s your job. She’s desperate for a walk in the park.”

Petra’s tail wagged, effusively. The guilt trip worked. 

Phoebe and Petra were almost at the road, when Mum called from the doorway, holding out Phoebe’s coat,  

“Come back. You’ll need this.” They reluctantly complied.

Amidst a screech of tyres and a metallic thud, a car mounted the kerb, flattening the stop sign completely.

Crazy drivers, Phoebe thought. They’ll kill someone one day.

Her mother, white as a sheet and crossing her chest, handed Phoebe her coat.

100 words

For Friday Fictioneers

Photo by Dale Rogerson
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Published by Forestwood

A philosophic Aussie writes here at StPA, one who will readily admit to loving Scandinavia. I'm interested in global politics and what drives us to be who we are. Scratch the surface and you'll find a practical Environmentalist with an egalitarian bent, trying to unleash a little creativity via the written word. Scandinavian culture, literature and traditions are close to my heart, even though I'm Australian. Travel and courteous discussions greatly broaden the mind, so I travel if I can and am always up for a vigorous, respectful discussion. I'm an avid reader, a writer and I enjoy photography and crafts, particularly traditional art forms. I hope you'll find 'Something to Ponder About,' in my WordPress Community.

56 thoughts on “Nearly Wasn’t”

    1. Loosely based on a real life experience for me and my son, Janis! Except it was a large tree and not a car! These moments cause you to become reflective for a time and really appreciate the continuance of life. They are a shock to the nervous system though.

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    1. Thank you David and it was lovely to have your visit StPA and leave a thoughtful comment. Those what if moments in life are indeed sobering. Sometimes I think we need them to jolt us out of our complacency of life? Yeah?
      But the word count is a challenge for me to write well, and convey a descriptive enough message. I am trying to improve.

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    1. I think it would be easy to build suspense by telling the cars side of the story as well, but you know, 100 words is difficult. I hope I am learning to be succinct! Thanks for your insightful and kind comment.

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  17. Good story Amanda. I like how you capture & contrast the different views of mother & daughter. It’s a clever way of presenting the girl’s view of her infallibility vs the mother’s mortification at a disaster averted.

    Have you heard about the terrible Uvalde school shooting in Texas? This story brings to mind the horrible twist of fate that left half the kids in school while another went home with their parents. just before the shooting. The kids who stayed did so because they wanted to watch a movie.

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    1. I hadn’t heard about half the kids that go sent home. My goodness if your child stayed to watch a movie – and I know one of my kids would have chosen that – it would haunt you for the rest of your days. Those poor families – what grief and torture they must be going through. America is a country born in guns and will die in guns it seems.

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      1. The American psyche wrt guns is incomprehensible. On Sunday there was yet another mass shooting in a shopping mall. A lone gunman with a rifle went into the food court and randomly shot four people. The gunman was shot & killed by another civilian who was legally armed. It was like a shoot-out in a movie. But the worse thing is that it’ll be used as an example as why more Americans need to be armed – to protect themselves!

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      2. This tragic event will be a gift to the NRA, unfortunately. Sceptical me thinks it could even have been a set up between the NRA and a mentally unbalanced person but that seems ridiculous.

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  18. I can relate to this scene perfectly. We live at an intersection where there is a Give Way sign. It has been run over and completely flattened 5 times in 7 years. Often the driver just drives on, if there is no damage to their car. They take the corner lazily and badly. No one has ever been hurt, but it’s like the Monty Python skit…”There goes another one”. Great story!

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  20. Pingback: Nearly Wasn’t – Nelsapy

  21. It actually astonishes me that, sitting as we are atop a series of controlled explosions, and steering what is essentially a death-dealing missile at dizzying speeds through the thick of innocent populations, we don’t do much more damage than we do… There were those who predicted that the internal combustion engine would never become popular for those reasons, as well as the smell and noise. They reckoned without, I think, the overwhelming pleasure of seeing the sights without having to do so around a horse’s rump or two… 😆

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    1. Encapsulated so well, Ane! We take our lives into or hands every day. It is surprising that they aren’t more deaths and it shows how much thought goes into safety. Whereas a horse can also be a dangerous thing. And one can definitely appreciate nature more from its slower moving rump.

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      1. Even a bicycle is too much motion, effort and especially balance for me. For most of my adult life I’ve gone almost exclusively afoot ~ but now that strength is lacking for running errands in that way I’m most grateful to have been bought my little minivan by reader contributions 🙏

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      5. Is it? And mine was never what you’d call good to start with. Once had to catch myself from simply falling over from a standing position, right in the middle of a speech competition! Some kind of inner ear thing, I think. It’s not like I was tempted to take up water skiing (or any kind of skiing at all)! 😱😂

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      6. Inner ear issues are definitely tied into our sense of balance and yes having worked in physiotherapy field for a number of years, balance is the first thing to go with out age. Whether that be from a more sedentary lifestyle, weakened muscles, sight deterioration or inner ear issues, it affects our balance. Have you tried closing your eyes and standing on one leg. It is not easy and a good test of how one’s balance is. Warning: if you try this, have a wall close by to grab in case you fall.

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