He stared at it.

It stared back at him.

It seemed harmless, a spinning circle.

Yet within it he sensed malevolence, an ominous presence, a threat.

Was it sneering at him? Laughing at his bad fortune?

How long would the stand-off last?

He’d been through the anger and rage, his crushed coffee cup was evidence of that.

Resignation followed frustration.

He leaned forward and held down the power button.

The screen went blank, the spinning circle of death disappeared.

A morning’s work lost, an afternoon ahead trying to remember what he had written.

He pushed the power button again.

The screen blinked on.

There was the circle again, spinning away with contempt.


This is a response to the Thursday Photo Prompt – Circle curated over at Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo. Click on the link to read other stories inspired by the image.

24 responses to “THE SPINNING CIRCLE OF DEATH”

  1. Christine Goodnough Avatar

    Well told! Been there; seen that. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Iain Kelly Avatar

      We’ve all had days like it… Thanks Christine

      Like

  2. Brandy Avatar
    Brandy

    Intriguing. Painfully familiar. Life needs a backup or restore feature.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Iain Kelly Avatar

      Wouldn’t that be good! Thanks Brandy 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Brandy Avatar
        Brandy

        It would be. 😀

        Liked by 1 person

  3. James Pyles Avatar

    Not nearly as frequent on a Mac as on Windows.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Iain Kelly Avatar

      You won’t convince me, PC all the way 🙂

      Like

  4. scr4pl80 Avatar

    I’m so used to your twisted mind, Iain, I thought that it was some kind of lottery story leading to death of some sort…well, death of a computer is easier to take than human death. Nicely done.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Iain Kelly Avatar

      Not this time Janet 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Fandango Avatar

    I hate when that happens!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Iain Kelly Avatar

      Always at the worst time too.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Fandango Avatar

        Always!

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Sarah Ann Avatar
    Sarah Ann

    As someone who has had to put up the spinning ball all afternoon while I catch up with emails and posts, I’m not sure this is has enough anger in it. Or perhaps that’s because I haven’t reached resignation yet. I really need to get to the point where I can restart 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Iain Kelly Avatar

      Ha, yes, his reaction was mild considering 🙂

      Like

  7. Darnell Cureton Avatar

    The spinning sounded like a Chakram. Then I realized it was the 2.0 PC version.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. robertawrites235681907 Avatar

    I do hate it when that happens, Iain. Good response.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Iain Kelly Avatar

      Thank you Roberta 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Brenda's Thoughts Avatar

    I so hate that spinning “rainbow wheel” sometimes. It’s amazing how annoyed that thing can make me (but it’s so pretty … growl). Loved your story though.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Iain Kelly Avatar

      Only afterwards do we realise how irrational we have been shouting at an inanimate screen! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Sue Vincent Avatar

    Oh gawd… that is one circle I hate to see 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Iain Kelly Avatar

      Me too! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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