It had been a long day and we were all hungry and tired. The town looked peaceful enough.
“Left here,” Miriam said.
We slowed as we approached 347, the address in Miriam’s guidebook.
“There it is!” I pointed. “Can you read the sign?”
“I hear the food in this town is awful,” Miriam said. “Let’s move along.”
I could tell the kids were disappointed, but I kept my smile. “Sure.”
As they consolidated power, it became harder and harder for our kind to find a safe haven.
There was still hope for the next town. We got on the highway.
***
Word count = 100
Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. This week’s prompt is here and uses a photo ©Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Read more or join in by following the InLinkz “linky“.
Trent's World (the Blog) 
I hope they find a place…
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Me too
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A clever and powerful story.
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Thanks.
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I hadn’t heard about green books before. We’ve all faced rejection before, but being rejected on a regular basis is another story altogether.
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I have heard of these types of guides that marginalized people use, with the green books being the most famous. I think it is awful that some people do see rejection on a regular basis.
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Good fiction based on our horrific reality. Nice use of the sign.
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Thanks. Too many have relied on that type of guidebook. Wish it was safe for everyone…
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Fascinating story. I have so many questions about this intriguing world system you have started to build here. Well written.
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Thanks. Unfortunately the world system here is based on the real world at different times and places, like black families traveling the South and Midwest US in the 1950s with their green books, only stopping if they know they’ll be welcomed.
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Rejection is painful. The parents did well to try to hide it from the children. So very sad but nicely written.
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Rejection is painful, and there are too many who are rejected by the societies in which they live. Protect the children while you can… Thanks.
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Where do you belong if no one wants you?
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That’s a great question, and unfortunately there are a lot of people asking it, some in refugee camps around the world, others hiding out here and there…
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It looks like the whole world is against them. I hope they find somewhere more accepting.
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Yes, hopefully the next town up is a little more open.
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That was really interesting, I had no idea who this family was, save to say they were somehow different and were being discriminated against, a really thought provoking piece, nice one.
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Thanks. Yes, I want to be sure it was vague who the different characters were, so anyone can identify with the family.
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Hopefully, they’ll find a YEP sign before long.
Here’s mine!
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I hope so…
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Nicely told and somewhat experiential in that I felt like I’d been there. “Let’s just move on…”
Good one, Trent.
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Thanks, Bill. I occasionally do try to experiment with that “it is just like every day life, except…” concept.
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Don’t worry; the next town has better people in it.
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This town had some good people, they just felt a bit threatened, but I’m sure the next will be better. Usually is.
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Dear Trent,
I had the feeling the ‘guide book’ might have been a ‘green book.’ Sorry state of affairs if so. Good one.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yes, green book. I had forgotten the term so just Googled it. I didn’t see the movie by that name, but I have seen documentaries about jazz using them while on tour. Thanks.
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It is a very good movie Trent, The Green Book.
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I remember when it was out. It did look like a great film, so I may try to see it at some point.
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Oh, almost forgot – if i did remember the name, I would have still said “guide book” so people might think “Frommers” until the end. Well, most people…
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I like the metaphor in the sign on the door, which you capitalized on in your story. Nicely done.
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The sign was the first thing I thought of when I say the photo. Thanks.
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To me, this felt like an apocalyptic vision. As if one day, we will all be reduced to this as we break up into “our kind” mentalities. Scary.
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It is an apocalyptic vision, though I based it on the past. I remember reading about jazz bands traveling in or through areas with mostly white populations that would keep books that listed the people they could rely on if they had car problems, need a dinner in a strange town or something similar. I also heard that the gay community had a similar thing in more recent days. Hopefully it stays in the past….
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What happens when they run out of ‘next towns’ I wonder? Good one Trent.
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It is hard to think about what will happen when the last town is crossed off the list… Thanks.
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Oh so sad…
I want to think Aliens (coz that is less painful)
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Yes, very sad. Unfortunately, often people who segregate people out like this try to convince people that they are “aliens”, or at least less than human.
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Sadly.
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It is sad, but perhaps the only way some people can be so inhuman to fellow humans.
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I thought Aliens immediately, and smiled that they also sought to protect their children 😊
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When you bring up that interpretation, I can see it. And I have done a few stories where it was aliens…. Well, shouldn’t aliens love their children too? ;)
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Yes. But isn’t one of humanity’s issues that we put our cultural expectations onto others, too easily? 👀
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Yes, very true.
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Our kind. That opens a lot of possibilities. I wonder who the “they” is, and hope it’s not what I’m thinking. Good writing–leaves many possibilities.
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Thanks, I tried to leave it open to the imagination: “They” might be political/economic extremists, religious fanatics, racists, whatevers. There have been many types that have excluded others through history.
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‘Our kind’ says it all, but the kids will learn soon enough.
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There always seems to be a group that wants to exclude “or kind”… The kids will learn too soon.
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That’s a good example of putting a brave face on it for the sake of the kids. Very sad.
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No sense worrying them over things we can’t control…
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