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Reena’s Exploration Challenge #160-

Reena’s Exploration Challenge #160

PROMPT #160

I give you a situation this week.

You go down in a lift that doesn’t stop for hours. When it finally opens, what do you see?

HELLUCINATIONS?

We,

the law-abiding
justice-seekers, call us fools or whatever…
Crammed in a lift going down. It may take hours we are informed. We don’t mind if it takes months or years, so long the door opens to the justice we are seeking.

Though at present things are looking grim as always we can’t afford to lose hope we, the die-hard optimists are prepared for the worst but hope for the best
Finally the lift stops.

The door opens,

‘Welcome to the fool’s paradise’

we are cheered by

the skeletons of the previous justice seekers.

Am I hallucinating?

Friday Fictioneers is hosted by the wonderful Rochelle, the undisputed master of what I call Sound Bite Fiction.
She sets the weekly challenge, the standard, and the prompt photo.
The idea, as always, is to write a story of around 100 words based on the picture below, which this week is supplied by Dale Rogerson.

Click here to hear the author read his words:

The Emperor’s New Clothes

the people have voted the message is clear
they tell him it’s time that he goes
the people have voted but one man can’t hear
the king sits in his palace without any clothes

the people have voted their decision is made
they are weary of the lies now exposed
his hubris once more is starkly displayed
the king sits in his palace without any clothes

the people have voted they’ve won a great prize
they applaud now the…

बैठे रहे हम घंटो तसव्वुर तेरा किए हुए
डूबते उबरते रहे तसव्वुर तेरा किए हुए

वक़्त-ए-वस्ल कुछ यूँ लगा नश्तर तेरा
तुझपे हम मरते रहे तसव्वुर तेरा किए हुए

कर दिया जो तूने कल मिलने का वादा
शब को सहर करते रहे तसव्वुर तेरा किए हुए

हुआ जो भी अब तक हमारे संग अच्छा बुरा
तेरे नज़र करते रहे तसव्वुर तेरा किए हुए

होती है दिल से दिल की राह “अमित”
तुझको खबर करते रहे तसव्वुर तेरा किए हुए

In response to: Reena’s Exploration Challenge # 160

Reena’s exploration challenge #160.

You go down in a lift that doesn’t stop for hours. When it finally opens, what do you see?

As a kid, the land of fairies and goblins, witches and demons, knights and palaces always fascinated me. I looked up in awe at the mythical characters with their super powers. Their gift to fly in the open sky or dive to the bottom of the ocean, save the princess in distress… ah the world of fantasy always enchanted me. Well, real life is poles apart from this utopian world. Growing up, this fascination got buried somewhere deep in my heart. Life and routine happened.

Exhausted after another long day at work, I headed towards the elevator to get home, praying that I would be spared by the serpentine weekend traffic. I pressed the parking level button and was catching up on the messages on…

Never in my wildest dreams, had I ever thought that a day that would start off like any other day, would transpire into THE day that I would never forget in my life.

I swiped out my identity card marking the end of a long day’s work, stepped inside the office lift to go home. Usually it would take just a minute for the lift to halt at the parking basement, even if it stops at every floor and loads in people.

But, neither the lift stopped at any floor to pick up people nor it halted in the basement. Even after three minutes, it didn’t stop and I couldn’t make it to.

I panicked when the alarm/call button didn’t work and my phone didn’t pick up any signal. When all my efforts to open the lift turned futile and my plight to get out went unnoticed even after two…

Donald Downer

What deeper descent than this lift?

Falling
Falling
Falling

Our attendant
Lips pursed
Beneath brim of red hat

Offers no excuses
Only promises
Of a living hell

The doors open to reveal
A hell no different than
The last four years trapped with him

A swift kick out the door
A simple X on a ballot
And we leave him behind

What sweeter ascent than this lift?

Reena’s Exploration Challenge #160 offers this scenario:

You go down in a lift that doesn’t stop for hours.
When it finally opens, what do you see?

Reena is offering us a situation this week where, “You go down in a lift that doesn’t stop for hours. When it finally opens, what do you see?”  This made me think about ‘Hell in a Bucket’ the Grateful Dead song from their 1987 In the Dark twelfth studio album that is sung by Weir and was written by Bob Weir, John Barlow and Brent Mydland.  The album reached #6 on The Billboard 200 due to the popularity of ‘Touch of Grey’ which peaked at # 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually this album went Platinum.  ‘Touch of Grey’ was the first Grateful Dead song to have an accompanying music video.  The song ‘Hell in a Bucket’ got to #3 on Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and it also reached #3 on the Hot 100.  The video was directed by the longtime Dead Family videographer Len Dell’amico who…

going deep within
we will see ourselves clearly
monsters and angels

If you’ve not seen the movie above, I highly recommend it. I will tell you it’s disturbing but hits on so many points of humanity. Well-worth watching.