“Stupid fools!” Brad thought, when total strangers approached, glanced at his prosthesis, and commented with a smile and a nod, “thank you for your service…”
He knew he was not who they assumed he was. Their comments, the stares, the side-glancing whispers, their misplaced approval haunted him. It made him wish that he had died in the crash; not the young mother and three small children whose car had the misfortune of being in the path of his drunken recklessness.
They didn’t know him. All they saw was his titanium leg, assuming the best…his personal hell.
~kat
96 words for Friday Fictioneers inspired by the photo above by J. Hardy Carroll.
like mercury colliding... 
July 5th, 2018 at 12:30 pm
Great story. You took the wounded soldier story that many of us used (including me) and turned it on its head, added a bit of depth to it.
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July 5th, 2018 at 12:36 pm
Appearances can be deceiving.
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July 5th, 2018 at 1:13 pm
Fascinating. I liked your take on this very much
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July 5th, 2018 at 3:07 pm
Thank you Neil.
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July 5th, 2018 at 2:44 pm
Great story Kat. It’s amazing how our minds create details that don’t exist!
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July 5th, 2018 at 3:07 pm
You know what they say about those who assume… 😉
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July 5th, 2018 at 3:10 pm
A part of me wants to say he deserved the guilty reminder of his stupidity. Great write this week.
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July 5th, 2018 at 5:48 pm
Oh! How sad is that . Great take Sis 💜
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July 5th, 2018 at 6:40 pm
Thank you Sis ❤️💜❤️
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July 5th, 2018 at 6:50 pm
💜💜
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July 5th, 2018 at 6:29 pm
Oooo. That would be really hard to live with.
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July 5th, 2018 at 6:41 pm
Yes indeed it would. 😢
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July 5th, 2018 at 11:41 pm
I love it! You never know someone’s life till you actually know them. Amazing!
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July 6th, 2018 at 12:34 am
Thanks Lisa. That is so true.
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July 6th, 2018 at 12:09 am
Wow, that was such a powerful story Kat.
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July 6th, 2018 at 12:35 am
Thanks Anurag.
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July 6th, 2018 at 4:42 am
A beautifully crafted story Kat, packing a real punch with people’s assumptions alongside the bitter truth. Well done.
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July 6th, 2018 at 6:28 am
Thanks Francine.
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July 6th, 2018 at 12:46 pm
Never judge a book by its cover. A thought-provoking piece. Nice one Kat.
Click to read my FriFic tale
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July 6th, 2018 at 2:39 pm
Thank you Keith.
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July 6th, 2018 at 1:50 pm
🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀
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July 6th, 2018 at 7:26 pm
Wow..yes I can see the conundrum. I mean, what do you do, explain?
Excellent thoughtful piece!
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July 6th, 2018 at 7:57 pm
Thank you Dawn. It truly is his own personal hell.
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July 7th, 2018 at 3:35 am
I suspect the weight of guilt is not supported by the leg, what shame he feels.
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July 7th, 2018 at 4:41 am
It is surely more of a burden.
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July 7th, 2018 at 5:14 am
This is quite dark, he sounds a horrible person with a history like that he’s still prepared to let well meaning people think the best of him
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July 7th, 2018 at 5:16 am
…and curses them for doing so. Such is the misery of regret and guilt.
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July 8th, 2018 at 12:49 pm
Very clever take. Punished for his crime by the kindness of strangers. Brilliantly told.
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July 8th, 2018 at 4:24 pm
Thank you Jilly…karma…
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July 9th, 2018 at 2:46 am
looks deceive us.. great take on the prompt.
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July 9th, 2018 at 4:08 am
They certainly do. Thanks Deepa.
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July 9th, 2018 at 7:28 pm
A moment of stupidity followed by a lifetime’s penance, feeling like a fraud as well as a “heel.” Yep. I said that.
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July 9th, 2018 at 7:42 pm
Haha. Clever you! So bad!!! I love it! 🤣
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