PROGRESS

She saddled up the white mare. One last ride across the open plains. Then retirement in the city and her new apartment.

Nestled in the distance the farmhouse and barn – the small bit of the world that they had once owned.

She thought about the years spent working this land. She thought of her ancestors who had worked it before her, and the native Americans had roamed the plains before that.

Now the developers own it. Tomorrow the first heavy machinery will arrive. Tarmac and housing estates will build over the ghosts of those that came before.

And they call that progress.

Written for Friday Fictioneers 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 more stories of 100 words based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.

My new novel All We Cannot Leave Behind is coming February 2024 and the paperback can be preordered now.

The State Trilogy and The Barra Boy available now.

55 responses to “PROGRESS”

  1. Many can identify. Well expressed.
    This is the reality for our world.
    At one point, we will have such rapid “progress” & “development”.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I’m sure they’ll call it something Bufallo Heights

    Liked by 1 person

  3. For every step ahead there has to be a sacrifice.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Perhaps too much of a sacrifice!

      Liked by 1 person

  4. I never cease to be amazed at what is called progress these days. Good one, Iain.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Sandra, amazing how a lot of progress seems to be regressive these days.

      Like

  5. Dear Iain,

    This is just heartbreaking. Well done, sir.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 1 person

  6. A sad reality for far too many areas like this.
    Lovingly told, Iain.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Pleasure is mine!

        Liked by 1 person

  7. Yep, I see this every day of my working life, its a shit business

    Liked by 1 person

  8. We seem to be determined to pave paradise. I wonder where it will end. Lovely nostalgic feel to this, Iain, although I note that she herself is moving to a built-up destination. Was that a choice?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. From her character I suspect not her choice at all. Thank you

      Like

  9. Progress has a downside. Even the suburb I live in was farming land a generation ago. The curse of the urban sprawl. Yet, we all want nice housing and a larger city. Animals be damned.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Something’s got to give at some point.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Nicely penned.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. The woodlands my children roamed are now housing estates too.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yep, same goes for the playing fields I played on as a kid. Seems to happen everywhere.

      Like

  12. we can’t stop the march of time. when all’s said and done, nothing will be left but memories. such is life

    Liked by 1 person

    1. True, but we could choose how to progress more carefully and compassionately.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. There is a huge tract of farmland at the end of our road. We’re all dreading the day when the owner dies and the land is snatched up for “development.” Traffic, stores, gas stations, and all sorts of other things will clog our roads and destroy the habitat that we all treasure.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Seems to happen to any bit of green land they can find.

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Progress is a 4-letter word to me.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. And cue Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” …. “The paved paradise and put up a parking lot”.
    I wonder …. after all her reminiscing will she really retire to the big city?
    Good story Iain.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I sense she doesn’t have a choice, maybe family in the city insisting she goes there, or declining health, maybe. Thank you!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Endless possibilities in this scenario, Iain.
        You’re most welcome.

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Great Iain – progress – I think not 🙌

    Liked by 1 person

  17. A far too common occurrence. I often think back to the fields behind my childhood home in which we played, watched tadpoles, and climbed trees. Fields which became an industrial estate.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. I’ve watched this valley disappear over the last 40 years. What can you do? More people need more jobs and more places to live.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Very true, but we have to plan it better and try to work with the surroundings rather than destroy them. Thanks Dawn

      Liked by 1 person

  19. That’s the universal story. So very sad.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Indeed it is, thanks Patrick

      Like

  20. Oh such a sad piece. Progress brings destruction. Lovely descriptions of the locale in this piece.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. I feel for the MC because I don’t get the feeling she wants to leave. Or maybe I’m projecting… I think we need to redefine our definition of progress. How many strip malls does a city really need?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think you are right, she doesn’t want to leave, and yes, what really counts as progress?

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Michael Humphris Avatar
    Michael Humphris

    Spot on Iain, it hurts to see the earth covered in concrete

    Liked by 1 person

  23. You hit the nail on the head!

    Liked by 1 person

      1. You’re welcome.

        Liked by 1 person

  24. Progress isn’t always progress. Sometimes, history

    is lost and the old life forgotten forever. There’s a

    melancholy feel to your story.

    Liked by 1 person

  25. So sad to see the beautiful open countryside cluttered up with housing and industrial developments. Well told.

    Liked by 1 person

  26. That’s what’s happening where I live. A chunk of the area where I used to hike is now homes. Around the corner, more neighborhoods are popping up. They’re actually squeezing 100 condos into the parking lot of our park. I’ve seen it, and I still don’t believe it. I guess that’s what I get for moving to a quiet community on the outskirts of town.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. There seems to be no stopping it. Such a shame – and they really do pack them in tight now. Any sort of garden or yard is a luxury.

      Liked by 1 person

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