“The new clothes you just bought at the mall have shape-shifted to rags by the time you returned home.”
– a prompt for this week’s CW piece.
[Source @DailyPrompt on Twitter]
***
“Barb?”
She didn’t hear him come into the house until he tapped her on the shoulder.
“Barb, you alright?” – he asked while kissing her on the cheek.
“Yes, Honey, I’m alright. Just thinking…” – she answered as she drifted off again.
She thought about how horrible her day had been. First she spilled her freshly made coffee all over her neatly ironed blouse. Then, she realized there was no more coffee left to brew. The traffic on her way to work was worse than usual, and she arrived an hour late. That was all too much stress for Barb to handle before noon. A demanding client pushed her over the edge, and she snapped. Needless to say, she was asked to clean out her office and leave the premises. As she sat in her car, she called Nancy to complain about her day and hopefully hear some comforting words, but Nancy had a bad day of her own and wouldn’t have any of Barb’s drama. Their conversation finished with shouts and curses.
There was no one she could turn to for support. She couldn’t tell Todd she got fired. They were saving money to buy a new house. He would be upset to hear they lost half their income. She spent a few minutes crying in the parking lot, but then pulled herself together and drove home. However, because there was nothing to do at home, Barb decided to take the scenic route through the downtown streets, instead of taking the highway straight back. As she passed GUCCI’s storefront, she could not stop but marvel at the display. She stopped the car, parked and went in. Once she stepped inside all her sorrows dissipated. It was a whole other world. She was happy.
“Barbara, I asked you a question!” – he said slightly irritated.
He stood there with her newest purchase in hand.
“Todd, I’m sorry. The dress looked so beautiful on the manequin at the store that I just HAD to have it. But once I got home, it somehow turned into rugs. It must be that marketing magic, I tell ya!” – she said not knowing whom she was trying to convince.
“Just like all the other ones that you’ve never worn, but refuse to return? Still with their tags on.” – he said and let out a sigh.
“Exactly! I think we need to let your sister know we won’t be coming to the wedding. I just have nothing to wear” – she said, looking at her color-coded closet full of rags with tags.
She was thinking back to the day she got fired. That was over a month ago.
***
P.S. As always, you are more than welcome to use this prompt to inspire your post. If you decide to write something, be sure to pingback to this post, so that I can get an alert and check your post. (A post on how to do pingbacks can be found here.) If pingbacks are not your thing, feel free to leave a link to your piece in a comment. The more, the merrier!
P.S.2. One of you actually wrote a piece inspired by this prompt. A really nice, short read. Check it out here.
Stay golden,
.
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Disclaimer: The picture used for this post is not my property. Source: here.
Have nothing to wear that’s why I’m wearing same jeans for ages 😬 ok, just kidding. Maybe 2 weeks? My mum always unhappy abt it :))
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😂😂
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What? That was the truth 🙂
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Yeah, pants are comfortable , but keeping them 2weeks…
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Sometimes 3 lol it’s normal for me, I’m kinda clean …I guess 🙂
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😶😶 ok…..
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Sometimes clothes get dirty after 1 day, but sometimes you can wear the same thing over and over again and it seems clean.
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Exactly 🙂 my point..😂
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I’m a bit hippie…& I hate clothes-shopping.
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I guess me too seeing the price tags
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I personally hate trying clothes (the most)…u have to stay in that small tiny room with all that clothes, it’s freakin hot…and no place to move. Hm
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😄😄😄 yep i agree!
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Some places don’t even have changing rooms. Or you have to wait in line. And God only knows what people do in those stalls and then you walk in…
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Wait in line? No thx
I never do 🙂 in the stores I’m visiting no lines usually but the sellers r annoying 😂😅
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Sometimes I find a perfect place, but soon after something changes and one thing or another is annoying. Oh, well. Life.
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Yep life 😮😬😅
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Is your closet full of clothes, or do you just have a few items you like?
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That’s a sad/worrying situation.
I wonder…. is this a little personal too?
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Nothing is too personal for comments on my blog.
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😄😄😄. You’re getting around my comment !
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Sent a mail
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I don’t have the patience to shop for clothes, so I stick with a few brands and buy when I think I have nothing to wear anymore. It seems all my clothes look the same. I just wear whatever I can grab from the closet, and I still wear clothes I bought 10 years ago.😆 And yet I’m also guilty of buying clothes I don’t wear.😂
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Thanks for sharing. I see so many people waste money on clothes they never wear, or even for new clothes when the old ones are just fine. They could use this money to travel, for example. Like you.
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I agree. I know a lot of people who make it their mission in life to keep up with the latest trends, and some of them can’t even buy decent meals. I just hope they’re really happy with what they’re doing.
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Very relatable – I swear the same has happened to me.
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Thank you for stopping by. Glad you enjoyed it and could relate!
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Loved reading this. It had a really good flow and story line
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I’m pleased to hear you thought so. Thanks for stopping by.
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Omg that picture on top. Usually I’m all pro weird Avant Garde and not afraid to wear some weird stuff myself… But that’s just too much! haha
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I was looking for some rag clothes and rug clothes popped up and they were actually… pretty interesting, but not fitting my agenda. When I found this one, I knew it was “the one”.
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I am guilty of this too.
Too many clothes but nothing to wear
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I find that often among women.
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OMG!! Something seems familiar…🤣now i am laughing myself like so hard🤣🙈
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I’m glad you found it entertaining. Retail therapy, huh?
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This was fun! I love how there is so much narration between the two parts of the dialogue. It really gives the impression that the main character is disconnected from the world… and I guess in her situation, she would be.
I hate shopping, and yet I could still relate to Barb: when everything goes wrong, I too sometimes “disconnect” from the real world and indulge in behaviours that do nothing to fix the problem (though at least they usually don’t make it worse).
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Thank you! I really appreciate your comment. It’s awesome to see that the “disconnect” that I have designed was actually visible to the reader. I wasn’t sure if I wasn’t overdoing it on the narration.
Thank you also for sharing your own withdrawal experience.
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I hate clothes shopping and clothes washing, I spend my life on building sites doing technical computer and mapping stuff so sometimes wear the same jeans for a week! There I’ve said it, I’m a dirty man!
Good piece by the way, it’s what’s inside the clothes that’s important!
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You closed your comment with a great remark in regards what truly matters. I cannot understand how people like clothes shopping, but to each their own. Thanks for stopping by.
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I liked how subtle the ending was. Realizing the truth of her situation made it even more powerful. The line that impressed the most weight for me was “looking at her color-coded closet full of rags with tags.” It was a superb twist upon the idea of how empty freshly bought clothes really are if they’re making up for a personal deficiency.
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You understood it perfectly! Thank you for giving it a read.
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Cheers! I’m glad you shared it ^^
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Loved this piece! I like how you took the prompt and really dug deep with it rather than express it literally, which is how I first thought of it when reading it. You showed so much of a character in such few paragraphs that by the end of it you feel you kind of know the character – or for some, even relate. Great story. Inspires me to try writing some short stories rather than always trying to sit and write a novel.
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Thank you so much for your kind words. It means a lot. And to hear that I inspired someone is humbling. Thank you again for stopping by and taking a read.
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