The Question
Frantically he pushed the door. It did not move. A voice filled the room. Please answer the question, that is all that’s required. The voice was calm and precise.
He began screaming, banging frantically on the door. It remained shut.
Soft and calm the voice repeated, please just answer the question.
Fire hoses did little to quell the fire.
The dying embers amid the rubble released the last gasp of smoke.
Firemen stood amazed. Only the door and frame remained untouched. There were no handles on the heart shaped door as it swung back and forth in the gentle breeze.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleAn unsolved mystery, an allegory, an unasked question – what more could we want from 100 words? This story will keep us all guessing for a long time. Great writing!
Hello Voice-Team, thank you for the encouraging words. This was an unusual one for me too, as it came to me, while having forty winks.
Eric, this story is so different, and so absolutely intriguing. Is this a woeful tale of AI gone wrong? What’s the significance of the heart shape for the door? Is there a deeper symbolism here? I can’t wait to read it over and over and let the aha moments pour in. Great job!
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleHello again Fuji, it’s not just words that have meaning – You understand this I know. Dreams speak to us through their symbols also. I’m not giving you any hints, (come on Eric, just give me a little hint, nope, Fuji, lets see what you can come up with!) Thank you, for reading and taking the time to comment.
What a conundrum you have presented us with Eric. The heart shaped door and the fire leads me to a heart on fire from which there is no escape. The question evades me but I get the sense the man is desperate for release but unwilling to answer the question. I have to assume he answered in the end as there is no mention of him among the ashes. As for the… Read more »
Why do we write Linda? It has always been a bit of a puzzle to me. I know we write through the desire to write, but do we write just for ourselves, or is it for others too? Does a story only come alive when it is read? Or is it a mixture of both, for ourselves and others? Then I guess it can also be personal? I find Linda, that I… Read more »
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleI write for the sheer love of it Eric. Sometimes I may pause and wonder if others will understand a particular phrase or sentence or even dislike it but, when push comes to shove, I understand it and I like it. So I guess I write for myself, but I also take a lot of pleasure from receiving feedback from those who have taken the time to read and comment. That is… Read more »
Ha ha, I love the pun, no Linda, it is a not a dream, but Carrie and her anti acid comment had me chuckling.Look to the symbols again!
Eric, when I read that he had to answer a question, I got the impression that this is a case of revenge and that the protagonist didn’t want to admit guilt. Your reference to the heart shaped door made me think this was maybe a romance gone wrong because of a fault on his part… which he didn’t want to admit to. So many possibilities though… Well done!
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleHiya Marianna, is there just one possibility, or many?. Thank you for reading, and for your thoughtful comments. The thing is you enjoyed it.
Eric, I certainly enjoyed your story. It is seldom as simple as only one possibility! That is making writing even more exciting, because each person interprets it in their own way.
How right you are Marianna, read Carrie’s.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleI like Carrie’s take on it! Much less morbid than mine ?
Very intriguing story, Eric. If this is symbolism, I keep imagining some poor chap with sudden chest pain, wondering if he has heartburn or having a heart attack. The firemen with their hoses the antacid going through his system, like in the advertisement, then the heart shaped door swinging back and forth, the beating of his heart as the fire subsides. My brain does go off on strange tangents though ?
Well Carrie, you had me giggling. Aunty acid, now you have me at it.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleNow, there’s a really cool name for a character ?
Are you offering, ha,ha.
Love your interpretation Carrie ? . Eric suggests I look to the symbols again, I think I’ll go crazy if I do, I’m already half way there!
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleI’m all the way to crazyladyness. You have read my interpretation!
Never Carrie, yours just made me laugh.
Linda the competition is over, so I feel that I should give you, Fuji, Carrie, Lisa and Marianna, an explanation. Here goes……. At times in our life there are questions that need to be answered. Our inner voice is always there, it is the Soul – the Heart. The voice, is his/her own. The flames are the consequences. The firemen, well no one can help. The last gasp of smoke, was the… Read more »
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThank you so much Eric for the explanation and congratulations on being a finalist. This was such an intriguing story that is so much clearer now! I did get it right that the door was his heart though so I will take some small comfort from that. I look forward to more fascinating and mind boggling stories from you that will probably drive me crazy but I will absolutely love them!
I love it, Eric. It is fascinating but thank you for your giving us the interpretation.
Ohh..I love stories that make me think and stay with me for a long time after. Nicely done 🙂
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleHa, ha, so long as they don’t keep you awake at night.