FFfPP — Neither Here Nor There

Fandango

Alvin rubbed his eyes with his glove-covered hands, not sure whether what he saw was real or a hallucination. He was tired. He was hungry. And he was chilled to the bone. He shook his head vigorously and blinked, and the small structure a few hundred feet ahead was still there. It must be real.

He started to walk toward the structure and could discern that it wasn’t some ramshackle shack. It seemed to be a small cabin and Alvin was feeling hopeful that his ordeal might finally be over.

Alvin quickened his pace, walking as fast as his nearly frost bitten feet could take him, but he wasn’t making any headway. The cabin was no closer. Exhausted and disheartened, he fell down and into the deep snow and sleep quickly overcame him.

When he awoke, Alvin was lying in a bed. A fire in the fireplace warmed the room and a strange man was sitting on a chair opposite the bed staring at Alvin. “Am I dead? Am I alive?” Alvin asked the man.

The man smiled. “There is no distinction anymore, Alvin.”

Alvin didn’t understand. “Where am I?” he asked.

The man simply said, “You are neither here nor there.”

Written for Roger Shipp’s Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner. Photo credit: pixy.org.

19 thoughts on “FFfPP — Neither Here Nor There”

  4. newepicauthor December 10, 2020 / 8:35 am

    I guess that Alvin’s spirit was dispersed into the universe, but at least he was warm and being looked after. Nice story Fandango.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Fandango December 10, 2020 / 1:51 pm

      Thanks, Jim. I had to work hard to cut it down to 200 words and have it still make sense and sound at least somewhat coherent.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  5. Marleen December 10, 2020 / 11:22 am

    Excellent winter story.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. leigha66 December 18, 2020 / 2:50 pm

    A little winter time fear, being lost in the snow. Good story!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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