It’s time again for Friday Fictioneers which is brought to you each week by Rochelle at Addicted to Purple.
PHOTO PROMPT- Copyright Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
The Couple on Flight 259:
a pandimensional tale told in two parts
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“Honey, what’s that big X down there?”
“Couldn’t say, dear. I’ve never noticed it before.”
“Me neither. It’s very strange.”
George replies, “Maybe it’s a heliport, darling.” and returning to his in-flight magazine he instantly tunes her out.
“Ah, that makes sense”, mumbles Merriam, and puts on her earphones.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charley! I told you playtime was over. Now you and your brother put your toys away this instant; it’s time for dinner!
Aw . . . !
Charley pulls the plug on his toy, then snatching the airplane from Billie’s hand he tosses them into the basket.
Laughing, they race for the door.
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Words: 100
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For some really great takes on this weeks prompt, please look
~ HERE ~
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What will you write?
Try it!
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Pandimensional: A term first coined in *The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, which means “Of or pertaining to all dimensions of reality”
* Please do yourself a favor and skip the Disnified movie version and go read the book! 😉
Life on the Farmlet 
Ha.. Not easy to be part of the toys.. Love the parallel stories.
Björn, I’m glad you like my effort this week. 😀
I could have stood a few more words about this: “Charley pulls the plug on his toy…”
OH! I just got it! At least I think I have. It’s not an electrical plug at all, which is what I first thought. Both toys are in the photo, right?
Hahaha! Yup, you got it, Linda. 😉
Wonderful take on the prompt. I just have two little issues. I think you meant brother not bother for the second son and in-flight should be hyphenated.
The cut on my finger explains the bother for brother.(Although both my brothers were bothers!)
However, it was interesting to look up inflight/in-flight. Seems that most references I found were spelled inflight, and that included the Oxford dictionary. BUT, the rest of the dictionaries listed the spelling as in-flight.
Thank you for your help in editing, Dawn. It is much appreciated. 🙂
OK, it’s official: I’m losing it! In my mind I remembered the word as inflight in my story. I just went to change it and found it typed as in flight. HA ~ Fixed it!
Perfect!
Dear Lynda,
I’ve been on that plane.
Great story.
Aloha,
Doug
Ha-ha-ha! Thank you, Doug!
Dear Lynda,
Very Twilight Zone-ish. I mean that in a good way. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
You know, that is exactly what my husband said, Rochelle!
Thank you!
Had me checking the calendar – losing a day isn’t part of the plan 😉 Well done on the prompt.
It’s that Pandimensional time shift. It’ll get you every time. 😀 Thank you, Annie!
LOL! Whether it’s in flight, inflight or in-flight… Don’t you just HATE auto-correct sometimes?; )
As to “losing” your mind; I truly believe that a “loose” mind is a good thing most of the time (but ‘specially when writing fiction [and having a good sense of humour; ])
But, I can’t help but wonder, what happened AFTER that…
“I can’t help but wonder, what happened AFTER that…”
Deb, I must assume that you never watched much of the Twilight Zone as a child. If you had, then you would be able to supply the next scene. 😉
Actually, I probably watched more of it than I should have; ) but, being the perennial optimist that I am…
A unique take on the prompt this week. You’re keeping me on my toes. I had to read it twice. Great story.
Thank you, Maree! I’m glad you enjoyed it. BTW, I suspect you may not have been the only one. So, I’ve tweaked the title a bit because I think it may have been a part of the confusion.
Nope! Lost me on this one! Even reading other takes on it I still don’t get it. Never mind- you can’t win them all!
Sorry to confound you, Liz! LOL!
The “plug” is the X that is referenced in the first part of the story. So when Charley pulls it, then the air is released from his toy.
ERGO: George and Merriam are jetting their way to somewhere and oblivious to the fact that
a) on the other side of the pandimensional realm Charley has just pulled the plug on their planet!
OR
b) they are actually a playtime scenario devised by Charley and Billy.
This helps you? 😉
Ah well, I don’t feel so bad now…
I looked at “the x” up close and, to me, it looked like some sort of building… So, as a result, I didn’t “get it” either (and that’s just fine by me; )
I did not get it either… so glad I wasn’t alone in that! I was like Deb and thought the X looked like a building. You know we went to a friend’s house to star and planet gaze through his telescope some months back, and I was embarrassed to be the only person of the group who could not see Saturn. I thought the blob in the lens looked like a pigs snout. Finally, after everyone tried to help me see it, it was FD who used his fist as the planet to explain what I was seeing – he knew what I was seeing and why I couldn’t get the planet and rings right in my head! Finally, I got it! You are that same kind of teacher Lynda – you give us something that can be perplexing or imaginative and you help us to open our minds or maybe envision outside of the box! Well done, my friend!! 🙂
Lori,
You, and a few others thought it looked like a building and that would be because it is one! Please read my comment to Patriciaruthsusan above for how I got from building to plug! 😉
You may be right about me, I can’t say. Or it may be I’m so far out there I resemble that pig snout (unfocused) and my brilliance only exists in my own mind. LOL!
But seriously, keep encouraging me, Lori. It helps!
~L
PS: I would have probably been just as unable to see Saturn as you were. I love how patient FD was with you and how he helped you to see it.
Lynda, Thanks for explaining the “plug” as I didn’t get it either. I got the toy part. Creative and well written story. 🙂 —Susan
Susan, thank you! I never realized how hard this leap would be for everyone else.
I looked at it and instantly thought:
“Round is to beach ball as X is to plug”
and so
Pull it = Pffffffffffft!
From that point on I was in the Twilight Zone I guess. 😉
Okay, so just for a little clarification here… As far as I know, beach balls, air mattresses, etc. up here in The Great White North” don’t have an “x”, just a single slit that opens up when you pinch the valve open to blow air into it… So, you see, it’s a cultural thing (and NOT just being dopey as you might have thought?; )
Deb, if anyone is dopey it is me. I’m the one who’s brain went from an X to a PLUG and came up with this crazy story. 😛
No, wait a minute, I think I see the route you took… So, we’ve (also been) talking about cameras here (well, not HERE actually, but on the other post…) Anyway, there’s an x on the hotshoe for the flash connector, which could be considered a type of plug, right… Right? How’m I doing so far…? ; )
I read it as option B. – which I found delightful, and very Twilight Zonish as well. We’re all just little playthings if you look at the big picture.
Russell, we must have been some of the last of the kids who were allowed to go out to play and use our imaginations. Though watching a lot of Twilight Zone surely must have helped! 😉 Glad you got it.
LOL, From “Jack and the Beanstalk” to “Men in Black”… (And I doubt that microorganisms believe they’re the biggest and the best, hey?; )
I came here for clever and creative, and you always deliver! I am erring on the side in which the George and Merriam are flying on the same plane the boys are playing with… am aI close? Lots to think about here.
Yes you are! The story was written a bit open ended, and as you said, with “Lots to think about…”
Therefore, there is more than way the story could be viewed, and still be valid to my intentions when I wrote it. 😉 Glad you enjoyed it!
BTW: I did give a couple of scenarios to Liz above, so you see it truly is open to interpretation!
I’ll have to go back and read the other scenarios, Lynda. I’m curious. That said, some weeks, I can barely get to the other stories, let alone the comment threads! And so often, there is a lot in those threads, that I miss! :-p
I know what you mean!
Dear Lynda, I love your story – such a clever idea – you’re good! Nan 🙂
Thank you, Nan! I do have fun with these, though I never know if it’s working till I get the feedback from all the other writers.
This one may have been a bit too abstract for some this week. Glad you got it! 🙂