Just two blocks from the theater district and the world had changed.
The city had always frightened Kim. She would never think of straying beyond her comfort zone, but here she was.
Robert had dropped her for the matinée in front of the Wang, not the Colonial. She had never walked there, but was it really that hard?
“Ma’am, wait, hold on…”
Kim barged forward to escape the dark face calling to her.
She didn’t see it until too late.
Now when she visits the city, Kim makes sure she spends time in “her neighborhood” with the “world’s friendliest people”.
***
I drew a blank at first, but the photo reminded me of a section of Boston close to the theater district. It is an area that someone from a rich suburb who never visits the city might find scary, though it isn’t at all, and few spots int he city are scary during the day… So, a little story about the breaking of unfair biases…
***
word count = 100
Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. This week’s prompt is here and uses a photo by @ Roger Bultot. If you want to join or see other stories, go to the inlinkz linkup.
Trent's World (the Blog) 
I firmly believe that exposure and familiarity are the keys to breaking down prejudices. You illustrated that well here.
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Thanks. Yes, that was the direction I was thinking
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She had to learn the hard way, but it’s good that she did learn, and overcame her prejudices.
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She did learn the hard way – it often hurts when we discover our prejudices, but usually not physically…
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Great story about letting go of prejudice. We need to become aware of and acknowledge them first though, which in her case seemed to have been rather painful.
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The awareness part is the most important part, and I think it is painful for most of us when we realize we were thinking through those filters of prejudice, if not quite the physical pain she felt.
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Trent, I had to go back and read it again to get the full impact. It speaks well to what I perceive as an atmosphere of fear that seems to be pervading us all these days. Thought provoking.
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I do think that more and more people look at what divides us more than our similarities – we let our narrow prejudices guide us too often.
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Good story and educational. Different always takes an adjustment. Add in media-conditioned biases, as you call them, and it puts up a big barrier to full enjoyment of the world. Speaking of Boston, I’m almost done with Season 1 of Showtime’s, “City on a Hill,” which is set in Boston. It focuses mostly on working class neighborhoods and families, but it also speaks to communities unifying with a common cause of making it better for everyone.
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Thanks! We do get conditioned to fear people poorer than us or (superficially) different from us. Hopefully knowledge, getting to actually know the places and people help. I have heard of the show but know almost nothing about it and haven’t seen any episodes. I do like Boston a lot, in all of its different neighborhoods.
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You’re welcome.
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Your story reminds me of when aged 17 I moved alone from a sleepy little rural village to central London. It was scary at first!
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I’m sure a move like that would be very scary at first. Very funny, a niece moved from a small town far from the city to that same neighborhood I described when she was 17, and actually used the phrase “I feel like a fish in water,” to describe how much she loved the move.
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Wonderful take on the prompt, Trent. My personal experience was wondering around Baltimore. It was a great experience.
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I haven’t spent much time there (I have spent a lot of time in it’s neighboring city…). I do enjoy being in the city, and have found that when told to stay away from some sections, it says more about the people saying that then the section of town itself…
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I agree with you. :-)
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You raise an interesting point. Cities are usually places of collective security with homes, businesses, and friendly humans. How come some places are a nightmare to visit?
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Some places are a nightmare to visit, but on the other hand, some people go in with the attitude that sections of town that are a bit poorer are a nightmare, while in reality not being too bad as seen from the eyes of people who know them well.
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Great imaginative leap from the prompt to the story. The story is nicely rendered and feels authentic.
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Thanks. Unfortunately her attitude, at least until the very end, is far too realistic.
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Yes, I fear it is. I’m glad you show that her prejudices were, at least in part, overcome.
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Dear Trent,
Kim has a rather narrow view of the world, doesn’t she? Perhaps a little more lost than she realizes. Actually a realistic little story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A very narrow view, and I was thinking of lost in that way when I decided on a title. On the other hand, I was thinking that one of those people she was afraid of rushed to her rescue, thus perhaps opening that mind a little…
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I loved visiting Boston, thank you for recalling to my mind my time there
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Boston is a great city – it has more of an “old world” feel to it than any other large American (US, I should say) city.
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Guess she survived – or is that her ghost I see?
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Yep, she survived thanks to those people who initially made her nervous running in to help.
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