Title: Marking Time
Source: Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words
PHOTO PROMPT © Jean L. Hays
Sani kicked the broken asphalt chunk, sending it skidding across the deserted, crumbling parking lot. He dreaded going into Grandfather’s market, where Sani waited after school.
Grandfather would repeat his stories of the olden days. Sani knew the stories by heart and was tired of them.
Route 66 used to run past the market, bringing travelers into town. Grandfather made sandwiches he sold to them with soda and chips. Grandmother sold the Navajo jewelry she made. It was a good life. Then the interstate bypassed town taking the tourists past the market.
Sani could only wait to join the travelers.
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Jo Hawk 
Homeowners tend to want a bypass to divert the traffic from their little town, but the businesses always suffer. Nice one!
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Yes a town can suffer much when that happens. Thanks for reading, Draliman.
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A nostalgic tale. Things are changing and not everything is for better.
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The one constant in life is change. Glad you liked it Sadje. 😊
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👍👌😊
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Great opening, Jo, followed by a nicely done little story.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thank you for the kind words, Susan.
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flow of traffic can make or break businesses, and mom and pop shops suffer the most. I have seen that happen. you write the longing well, the short sentences heavy with emotion. i spotted a typo – taking/talking…heehee
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Thanks for pointing it out, I will have to have a talk with my editor. 😉 I have it fixed now. I am glad you liked the story anyway.😊
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i really like the human stories you write, your characters are very real
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Oh, you know how to make me smile. Thank you Gina.
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may those smiles encourage more stories!
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Dear Jo,
Perhaps Sani should record Grandpa’s stories. Could be a best seller. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you Rochelle. 😊
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A sad tale of local decline. At least the road offers Sani a chance of escape.
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It is sad. I wonder at the price of escaping. Thanks for reading Iain.
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If Sani could only appreciate the wisdom of his grandparents…
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There may come a time. At least he knows the stories. Thanks for reading and commenting. 😊
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It is a sad thing for small businesses when that happens. They built a highway bypassing my mother’s early childhood land as well and we see nothing anymore.
Like Rochelle said, Sani should record Grandpa’s stories. I so regret not doing so for both my grandmother and father…
Well done story, Jo. I really liked this.
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I am afraid the story of the bypass is a common one. It is not too late to record the struggles and the stories you remember hearing. Glad this story touched you Dale. 😊
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They are already muddled by time…
It did! 🙂
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A story that repeats over and over again, as the big “superstores” make it easy to do all your shopping in one place. Sad for the small business owners. You did a great job with this story.
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Competition exacts it’s toll, doesn’t it. I am so happy you liked this one. Your words are music to my ears. 😊
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And they call it progress. Can’t help but wonder where such progression will take us as a nation.Excellent write.
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Thank you Violet. Change is very disruptive to us mere humans. It forces us to do what we do best: adapt. 😊
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Very sad. But nothing is forever. But glad it’s only a fiction story. Isn’t it?
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The joy of fiction is that we can explore issues and no one gets hurt. However, that is not to say the story is not based on true events.. 😊
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