This is my 9th attempt at the month-long blogging challenge, Blogging from A to Z. I’ve completed it 5 times so far. My theme this year is 7 Sentence Fiction, and the word I’m using for A is Actor.
The Actor
Riyaz looked down from the tenth floor balcony of his house.
There was heavy traffic, as it always was at this time of the evening.
He turned back to look at the shelf, filled with old drama awards from his school days.
“Failure.”
The word kept echoing in the back of his head, the memories flooding back quickly.
Nothing he had accomplished since then apparently mattered.
“Failure,” he mulled, looking at the road down below him, tired of acting like he was okay.
Liked this? Maybe you can read some of my earlier posts: Stories | for A to Z 2018.
(© Vinay Leo R. @ I Rhyme Without Reason,
1st April, 2018)
Vinay Leo R.
Poetry & writing are to me, a breath of fresh air in a life that is sometimes covered by the smoke of sorrow or self doubt. They also become the sweets I share to celebrate when life offers me a reason to. But most of all, they are to me, my life. For each word I write is a piece of my heart, a thought that just had to find its way into the world.
It’s so sad when we don’t realize our value and forget in one instance how far we’ve come and what all we’ve achieved.
Yes, Ishi. I think that when the world around keeps putting markers for success other than our own, we tend to forget our markers inadvertently. And accept we are failures based on those markers. It’s sad, but makes me wonder, is it human nature?
That is an awesome theme. It requires immense creativity to say a story in few words. Looking forward to more stories.
Loved this one.
I do tend to veer toward difficult themes, I think. But hopefully, this one will be easier to pull off. 😉 Glad you liked my story, Aesha.
How quickly we all give up! But then, the waiting does take its toll and we find no other option than to give up!
Looking forward to the rest of your fiction pieces, Vinay!
It’s not just the waiting, Shilpa Gupte. It’s the world putting more pressure on us to live up to their expectations, not just our own.
You know Vinay, we all are actors to a certain degree in our lives. Many a times we arent even aware of it, but sub-consciously we all are actors. Probably when we think too much, we get tired of it.. Sigh ! too profound a comment ???
Yes. I agree with you, Ramya. We are all actors, hiding some things, pretending otherwise etc. It’s sub-conscious, but affected by external factors too, no? Kind of a profound comment, yes. But glad that my small story stimulated your thoughts. 🙂
Please tell me he didn’t!
By the way love the concept of the theme. Looking forward to this series.
It’s an open ending, Mahak. He could have, or couldn’t have.
Glad you liked the concept. Hope to keep it up too. Thanks!
That last line says it all, doesn’t it? Echoing the strains that is almost synonymous with our present-day lives. I’m already looking forward to your stories, Vinay. Best wishes for the #AtoZ. 🙂
Yes. The strain of expectations, more often than not. 🙁 Thank you, Esha.
Ah ..oh! I hope he didn’t.
What a beautiful tale to start off the challenge, V. Glad to see you participating.
(Shalini recently posted… Achari Chicken Tikka)
I hope he didn’t too, T, but it is a possibility, and that’s a sad truth in such a case. 🙁
Glad am participating too. Hope I can finish it this time. 😛
How can he ignore his achievements so easily? Really heartbreaking 🙁
PS: Loved your theme of 7 sentence fiction. Eager to read more.
When those achievements are ignored by the world around, it sometimes overwhelms to the extent that the importance of those achievements are questioned. 🙁 Sadly, that does happen, Amrit.
Societal expectations can really pull one down. And it’s so difficult to remain upbeat in the face of continuous ridicule. Good luck for the rest of the challenge!
Cheers,
Deepa
Yes, Deepa. It can be ignored a few times, but repetitive taunting or ridicule does make it hard to uphold self-belief. 🙁
I hope he shrugs off the word failure and think about what he has achieved. Perhaps, instead of looking down, he can look up 🙂
(Sreedeep recently posted… #AtoZChallenge – Letter B – The Blue Tablecloth)
I hope he does too, Sreedeep. But the world is a cruel taskmaster, and self-belief is hard to keep up in its face at times. 🙁