NEMESIS

~ Iain Kelly

I stared at my nemesis.

Last night I had thrown the chair into the lake, shouting ‘good riddance’ as I heaved it as far as I could. I heard the splash in the dark.

Overnight the lake had frozen.

This morning there it was, sitting upright. Waiting for me.

Mum saw me looking out the window.

‘Did you put the chair out there?’

I nodded. Mum shook her head.

‘Then I think you should go and sit on the chair again. One day you will learn how to behave. Best wrap up.’

I swear the chair was grinning at me.

mystery-chair-ted-strutz
Ted Strutz

Written as part of the Friday Fictioneers challenge hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (more details HERE). The idea is to write a short story of 100 words based on the photo prompt (above).

To read stories of 100 words based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.

Published by Iain Kelly

39 year old writer, avid film viewer and book reader, employed in the media industry as a television editor.

88 thoughts on “NEMESIS”

  3. Intriguing piece, Iain. Nice hook with the first line. Additionally, the starting ‘nemesis’ and suggestion of ‘grinning’ at the end lends the piece a somewhat insidious and malevolent feel. Nicely done!

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  20. Why did he hate that chair so much? Mind, they’re not very comfortable, those things. Love how you give the chair personality – it almost looks smug now you’ve mentioned it 🙂 Love the tale Iain

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  25. Ah the poor boy. There’s just no getting away from that chair! It was funny but with a nice layer of the dark side in there too. I have a friend who was convinced a piece of furniture she inherited was possessed by an evil force. After one too many debates about how it could be exorcised, I suggested she just sell it. She took my advice and as far as I know, it never tried to come back – but who knows, it could be lurking out there somewhere, biding its time …. 😉

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  39. Well, that’s one step on from sending your child to sit at the bottom of the stairs without his or her toys, which was how I punished my children. It’s called “timeout” in behaviour therapy, which is better than a shouting match. The theory is that you give them positive reinforcement with plenty of attention/praise/rewards when they’re behaving but ignore them when they’re being naughty. Personally, I think that was quite a reasonable punishment, provided there was a time-limit on it and steaming drink of hot chocolate waiting for him after he’d sat quietly for half-an-hour.
    You made me laugh, as usual 😀

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    1. Thanks Sarah. We try that theory with our 2 but it fails because they love sitting on the stairs and are soon making games up there. Which is what they would do with a chair on ice as well! Thanks for the feedback, always appreciated 🙂

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