He had spent months constructing a space-ship console in the kitchen. Each morning, when Ma lay sprawled on the sofa in the next room not recovering from a hangover, Titch reconfigured his glass control levers, filling with empties the slots vacated the night before. Despite Ma never feeding him, he would make a fine astronaut.
Already an expert in drawing up blackcurrant juice from cartons with a syringe, one day soon — probably Sunday — Titch planned to fuel his space-ship from the vein in Ma’s arm, sure she would have enough alcohol in her blood to launch it way beyond the sun.
#
Image courtesy of Marie Gail Stratford
Friday Fictioneers — 100 word stories
Share this:
Sarah Potter Writes 
Dear Sarah,
At least Titch has an imagination to transport him from the pain he must actually be feeling. Great story with much written between the lines. Brava!
shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
Dear Rochelle, thank you.
Yes, I remember so well how my imagination helped me survive difficult situations as a child. It especially helped me through boarding school, which I totally hated.
There is a minus side to having too vivid an imagination as a child, too. And that is you can often imagine the absolute worst and half terrify yourself to death!
All best wishes,
Sarah
LikeLike
Dear Sarah,
This great story of yours reminds me of the time I woke from a nap to find the kitchen full of smoke and my toddler son standing on a chair by the stove ‘cooking’ macaroni and cheese without water. I hope Titch’s spaceship flies. Well done.
Aloha,
Doug
LikeLike
Dear Doug,
I’m so glad your toddler son didn’t burn the house down with both of you inside it. Funny you should mention macaroni; my daughter once made macaroni cheese in a cookery class at school. When she brought it home and decided to heat it up for supper, she left the plastic top on the glass dish, so we had what looked like a plastic-cheese lunar landscape come out of the oven.
All the best,
Sarah
LikeLike
Great story, Sarah. Titch’s mom would be really shocked if she knew of his daydreams. 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks, Sylvia. I think that Titch’s mom is too drunk to care about anything, let alone notice that she has a son!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t know why but Titch’s story makes me think it would make a quirky Buzz Lightyear Origins story – how Buzz came to be who he is, where he came from and why he wants to travel to infinity and beyond.
LikeLike
How wonderful. A Buzz Lightyear Origins prequel! I like that idea.
LikeLike
This is so inventive Sarah, I can’t imagine how you came up with it. Great story!
LikeLike
Thanks, Andrea. I have a very quirky imagination. Although sometimes I look back at the stuff I’ve written and wonder where on earth such strange stuff came from!
LikeLike
Oh, poor Titch! Now, I really wish the space-ship takes off..
LikeLike
Titch certainly needs to escape a place where someone values his existence. We will keep our fingers crossed for him, Uma.
LikeLike
Fabulous – thank you for sharing.
LikeLike
Glad you liked it, Mr Bunny.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The more offbeat and original you work gets the more I like it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
See my latest post in TDB on facebook. Offbeat and original means harder to market when it comes to novels.
LikeLike
I did see that post – it was quite sad. I think I have just had enough trying to write for a market. I enjoy writing so I am going to do that for a while.
LikeLike
I’m not ready to give up yet and am going to tell myself it’s just a case of a trend-setting writer finding a literary agent who shares her vision. Onwards, I say …
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I’m working on the other project we’ve discussed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am looking forward to it.
LikeLike
A painful story. But very well told through the eyes of a child.
LikeLike
Better a child that can dream up a solution to a horrendous situation, however fantastical that solution might be, than a child who’s listless and without hope.
LikeLike
Very true. The children are our hope.
LikeLike
A sad situation blanked out by the imagination of the child. Nicely done.
LikeLike
Thank you, subroto.
LikeLike
wonderfully wild and imaginative!!
LikeLike
Thanks, Cybele — oh, you whose writing often reflects those same two qualities!
LikeLike
What a piece! The whole notion of dreams and realities merged wonderfully.
LikeLike
Thank you, Jean, for your kind comment. Glad you enjoyed the piece.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Sarah,
What a magnificent imagination you have. So many of us daydreamed our way through the bad situations. LHN
LikeLike
Dear LHN
Thank you, kindly 🙂 Yes, I certainly have daydreamed my way through bad situations and, at a certain point in my life, decided to start committing those daydreams to paper rather than losing them to the stratosphere.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s fantastic! 🙂
LikeLike
So sorry for not replying to your comment, but it had gone into my spam folder and I’ve only just found it. I’m glad you enjoyed reading about Titch’s and his fantastical imagination 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
On the surface a light-hearted little tale but with a serious bleakness at its heart, which certainly isn’t an easy balancing act to pull off. I thought you handled it very deftly.
LikeLike
Thank you, Blake, for your kind words.
Thinking of what you’re saying about surface light-heartedness with underlying bleakness, I’ve noticed that a lot of famous comedians suffer from depression in their everyday lives.
As for Titch, I think maybe there are lots of brave little children like him in this world, who have found a way to deal with the most appalling circumstances in the most imaginative ways.
LikeLike