THE SHADOW

 

Photo Copyright: Al Forbes

This story was written for Sunday Photo Fiction–April 3rd, 2016. Each week the host, Al Forbes, provides a picture prompt. The challenge for each member of the group is to write an original story or poem with no more than 200 words and inspired by the prompt.

To read the other stories written by group members just  click on the link below, then click on the little blue frog in the blue box.

The link to the other stories this week is as follows:

https://sundayphotofictioner.wordpress.com/2016/04/03/sunday-photo-fiction-april-3rd-2016/

Genre: Humor/Fantasy Fiction

Word Count: 2+200=202

THE SHADOW by P.S. Joshi

Fred’s greatest desire was to become thin like the rest of his family. He finally found a diet he could stick with and began to follow it.

He weighed two hundred and fifty pounds and was short so people took a while to notice.

He dropped twenty pounds and his sister, Mildred said, “Lost a little weight, Freddie?”

With a sixty pound loss his cousins, the bus driver, the neighbors, and the storekeeper noticed. “Whoa, Fred, lookin’ good,” they said.

After that, none said anything. He became thinner and thinner and thinner. People began to wonder where he’d stop. But he was thrilled he could buy newer and newer clothes.

Something odd began to happen. One morning he noticed he had no reflection in the mirrors.

Outside it was sunny and only his shadow showed. People began to be frightened. They thought he was a ghost and avoided him.

He found he no longer could eat or go to work so stayed inside.

Soon he was forgotten.

The moral of this sad story is, “Eat enough to remain visible. Don’t become a shadow of your former self.”