Please, Help Me If You Can

Paul Gardner
Fiction Shorts
Published in
2 min readJun 10, 2024

Today’s random word is face

Photo by the author

A Drabble is a concise 100-word story that respects your busy schedule. Please stay on the page for thirty seconds so you will count as a reader. Thank you

I heard a frantic pounding as I walked past the house.

His face was familiar.

Memories.

Looking outward.

Fear and awe.

My trembling hand was clamped by a neighborhood girl walking to Kindergarten.

Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Home

Inside, too small.

Outside, too big.

Security and freedom.

Every day.

Of my life.

So, I knock on the door.

What’s the secret,” he asked.

“I’ll show you,” I said, “Let’s walk around the block.”

Why am I so afraid?

“The world is scary.”

Do you think so, too?

“Everyone is afraid. You are not alone.”

Take my hand.”

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Paul Gardner
Fiction Shorts

I’m a retired college professor. Politics was my subject. Please don’t hold either against me. Having fun reading, writing, and meeting.