Black and white images from the past. Not hers, someone else’s. The smiling portrait of a young woman, an elderly couple in front of their house, a grandfather, a brother and sister. A family, a historical document of a happy life.
$1 for the basket. The seller had no idea who the people in the photos were.
She bought them. They would become her family. She named them, imagined their stories. They would become the past she had dreamed of, the past others were lucky to have had. They would replace the nightmare she had lived through and the monsters she wished she could forget.

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.
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Wow. What a mental illness. Sad how broken some individuals are, usually as a result of trauma. Great story.
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Thank you. I wasn’t particularly thinking of mental illness, but certainly broken. Thank you.
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Terrific story Iain.
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Thank you Di
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Ooh, love that. Enjoy the idea of a woman inventing a whole new past just to escape the nightmare of the truth. As always, well structure and written with a cracking final punch. A friend of mine inherited some old photographs a few years ago. Hasn’t a clue who the people are, even if they’re related to her. Still, she can’t get rid of them. She says she feels responsible for them now, that throwing them away would be disrespectful to these strangers and sh might be the only person who has evidence of what they looked like, who they really were. Cracking tale, Ian
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Thanks Lynn, especially in these days of so many photos and the ease of taking them, somehow the old fragile black and white stills seem to be even more valuable.
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My pleasure. Very true, Ian, those old prints are irreplaceable.
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Wonderful idea, Iain. I loved your character
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Thank you Neil
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This has such an underlying feeling of nostalgia.
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Thank you Roberta
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You really feel for the woman. To have such a past and to reinvent her future. She must be very strong. Nice job.
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Thank you Michele
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Great take on the prompt.
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Thank you so much
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Fantastic turn in the story. i found an old photograph in a book I bought in a charity shop; what do you do with it?
Memories and the inquisitive search into out past are always locked in photographs, if only someone and written the names and dates on the back.(An idea I used in my latest book).
I wonder if the digital photos that are filling the e-cloud today will also fade in time.
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Thanks James, there are so many photos now, and so easy to take them, that actually it cheapens the meaning they have for people.
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Great stuff. Reminded me a bit of Blade Runner and the implanted memories of Replicants.
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Thank you, love that film.
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Iain, this is poignant and sad and heartrending and – in its own way – resilient.
I love what you did with this prompt.
Wow.
There’s a whole novel in this, you know.
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Thank you – you never know, maybe it is a starting point.
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Maybe!
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Wonderful!
That’s really creative! Creating a new world out of photos.
We are the makers of our own destiny.
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Thank you Anita, I feel that is what the MC is trying to do.
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Such a poignant and intriguing story. A STORY about people buying a whole new past. This is one of your very best Kelly.
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Thank you so much Neel, very kind.
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Jings, this gives me the creeps.
Well done
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Thank you, there is definitely a creepy element going on!
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Great idea, Iain. In the scrapbooking world, a box like that would be a treasure as well to use in our crafting. Wonder what her stories will be.
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Thanks Janet, you could do some fine work with those photos!
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Hopefully, bringing those images to life will provide some sadly needed comfort,
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Thanks Keith – a chance to start again and choose your own family, let’s hope it helps her.
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Yikes, must have been pretty harsh to have to invent a new past…
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Safe to say it wasn’t a happy time… Thanks Trent
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So that’s why buys these baskets of photos…
Bringing them to life to create an imaginary one of her own.
Well done, Iain.
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Thanks Dale, a good way to spark inspiration for a novel, now that I think about it.
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Truth!
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You know, Iain, that is not a bad idea. Excellent concept and execution ❤
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Thank you 🙂
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YW 🙂
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A powerful story! Some people experience such trauma that inventing a new past is the only way to survive the present and future. Well done!
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Thank you so much
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Wow! Very good …. seems like this could very well continue on …Like the preface to a novel perhaps??
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I ditto joyroses13
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Thanks Leanne
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I love the thought of old photos getting a second life. Maybe even fictional families can help us heal.
Tracey
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Thank you so much
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I put your book in my Kindle to read list.
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Wonderful, thank you. Do let me know when you start it and what you think, it’s always good to hear that someone is reading! 🙂
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I enjoyed this,
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Thanks Mike
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Dear Iain,
I loved this story. So telling and poignant. Perhaps the purchaser of the photos will become a writer. 😉 Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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It’s a good way to start constructing a family saga. Thanks Rochelle.
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I sometimes wonder at the lives of people in old photographs, but never for such a grim and tragic reason and to such an extent. Great story!
BTW I’m thoroughly enjoying your book. And a learnt a new Scottish word from it – “outwith” (which I was sure you’d made up until I Googled it!) – despite my mum being Scottish. I’ll have to ask her if she’s ever heard of it!
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Ha, new words are always good to discover. Great to hear you are reading and enjoying, always nice to know someone is and I’m not just writing in a void! Do leave a review and let me know what you think once you’ve reached the end.
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I loved this. Great idea to create a person’s story from a picture.
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Thank you so much Shirley
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That must have been some horror she lived through.
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Unfortunately it happens to some. Thanks Liz
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Mmmm. This poor woman. To “buy” a new made-up family for $1. Your story has made appreciate the love of my family ~ through blood and through bond ~ even more than I did before I read your words. Thank you.
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A lovely compliment, thank you Alicia.
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Oh, if replacing a past life were truly so easy, I’d give you all $4 I have to my name at the moment. Great story!
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Thanks, it would certainly make an easy solution, unfortunately life is never that easy!
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Oh a twisted tale indeed, sounds like she is better off without her past but I’m not sure the memories will fade even with new imagined ones taking their place
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It may be a help, but I agree, it’s not a solution.
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How terrifically sad, one forgets the forgotten abused after the events stop, the empty vessels looking for answers, comfort and hope in the pretend lives of others.
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Thank you
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That is really depressing. I can’t imagine if’s a very healthy way to go about dealing with one’s tormented past. Drugs and alcohol are the only healthy ways to deal with things. Oh, and indiscriminate sexual encounters. That said. Good story. It’s dark and intriguing.
I’ve always wondered about those collections of old photos in second-hand stores. Why are they there? Who sells them? Who buys them? This week’s prompt has me thinking it might not be a bad place to start finding characters and/or stories.
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That was my thought too, it would be a great way to trigger a story idea – maybe that’s who buys those old photos, aspiring and struggling writers. As for your advice, I’m off to buy some alcohol and drugs, the sexual encounter might prove trickier….
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Once you have the drugs and alcohol, spread the word. “Party at Iain’s house.” Opportunities will come knocking. I should know. I don’t drink or do drugs, and I always never have sex. That tormented past is always right behind me, though, clinging on like a tail, or sometimes a tale.
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That’s an excellent take on the prompt. I can empathise with the idea of wanting a surrogate family. I have a strong, loving family and friends, but I still take great satisfaction in the company of the non-existent characters I write about.
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I do sometimes wish my own characters could exist in real life! Thanks Penny.
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This is both incredibly sad and incredibly hopeful. What a unique idea for this post.
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Thank you Linda
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She will create her own little world with its own people. Sounds like a writer in the making. Seriously though, I like the idea of healing and escaping her past through imagination.
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Thank you Fatima 🙂
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Ironically, I took an art class with a gal who brought in photos she’d picked up at a yard sale.
She said she planned to make a family collage for herself. Astonishing the things some will go through to be able to say the word ‘family’. Powerful, Iain. I loved it.
Isadora 😎
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Thank you so much 🙂
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With her broken past, maybe she needed a way to make life a little better. I’m really intrigued by your character. Wonderful story as usual! =)
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Thank you Brenda
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Excellent interpretation of the prompt, Iain. I wondered perhaps if she’d turn out to be a spy or a protected witness. Not an easy life any way you look at it.
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Thank you
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I love where you go with the basket of old photos, what an interesting take. I recognise the power of these images of past people, even if they are not related to you. Good writing.
Congratulations on the publication of your latest book.
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Thank you – hope you get the chance to check the book out 🙂
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A good story with deep feeling, Iain. Poor women. She’s cutting loose her memories to adopt some makebelieve ones. That had to be a great need. —- Suzanne
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Thank you Suzanne
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Great interpretation. Like it.
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Thank you Trish 🙂
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OMG…how incredibly sad!
Or was it….
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Perhaps a new start. Thanks Dawn
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A poignant tale. Thank goodness for her imagination!
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A place of refuge. Thanks 🙂
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