Out of Reach

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Sheila

He shuffled by the statue on his way to work. He tried not to look but always did.

On the worst and grayest days, a demon grasped and pulled at his ankle. Sometimes the demon was love and then it wasn’t so bad. Still, the man kept reaching. But for what? Salvation, freedom, a better life in some other, faraway place? All that reaching could turn into too much. All that reaching could make a man fall. The statue showed him that. He ducked away from the drizzle and went to work.

Still, the man kept reaching.

For Friday Fictioneers, writers from all over the world come up with a 100-word story or poem inspired by a random photo. Thank you to Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for hosting and to David Stewart for this photo.

66 thoughts on “Out of Reach”

diannegray on February 13, 2013 at 4:49 pm said:

Fantastic, Sheila! 😉
- Sheila on February 13, 2013 at 7:59 pm said:
  
  Thanks Dianne! I usually try to do more humorous ones for this but this photo had such a desolate feeling to it. I’m glad you liked it.
andy1076 on February 13, 2013 at 4:53 pm said:

Love it! Some day the demon will release, maybe 😉
- Sheila on February 13, 2013 at 8:02 pm said:
  
  Yes, we’ll have to keep hoping, although it looks like it has a pretty strong grip there! Thanks Andy!
  - andy1076 on February 13, 2013 at 8:04 pm said:
    
    Well where there’s a will as they say 😀
Carrie Rubin on February 13, 2013 at 5:19 pm said:

Perfect words for a curious sculpture!
- Sheila on February 13, 2013 at 8:03 pm said:
  
  Thanks Carrie! It is curious, isn’t it? It makes me wonder why it’s there and what the real story behind it could be.
sustainabilitea on February 13, 2013 at 5:28 pm said:

I like “all that reaching could make a man fall.” Reaching can be good but when does it become over-reaching, loss of balance? You gave us some things to think about and I think your narrator and mine share somewhat similar feelings.

janet
- Sheila on February 13, 2013 at 8:06 pm said:
  
  Very true – and this statue does look like it might be reaching a bit too much for some reason! 🙂
yerpirate on February 13, 2013 at 5:59 pm said:

Very poetic.
- Sheila on February 13, 2013 at 8:08 pm said:
  
  Thank you – this photo has so much feeling to it so it was pretty inspiring.
deanabo on February 13, 2013 at 6:04 pm said:

This is really good writing.
- Sheila on February 13, 2013 at 8:09 pm said:
  
  Thank you! 🙂
lingeringvisions on February 13, 2013 at 6:31 pm said:

“All that reaching could make a man fall” wow, that’s deep.
- Sheila on February 13, 2013 at 8:10 pm said:
  
  Hahah – I guess the statue brought that out since it looks like it just might crash to the ground at any second. 🙂
- Abraham on February 14, 2013 at 2:32 am said:
  
  My favourite line as well.
  I also like the hint that the grasping of the ankle could be motivated by love.
  - Sheila on February 14, 2013 at 1:14 pm said:
    
    Thank you – that’s in honor of Valentine’s Day, even if he does look a bit tortured by the love. 🙂
train-whistle on February 13, 2013 at 6:48 pm said:

“He tried not to look, but always did.” Such an important line. How many of us do this? We don’t want to look, but can’t look away. Excellent story that comes full circle. Nice work.
- Sheila on February 13, 2013 at 8:16 pm said:
  
  Thank you! It’s funny that it is one of those things we do. This photo just made me wonder what it might be like to walk by it every day. It’s such a crazy statue and seems to be trying to tell people something.
readinpleasure on February 13, 2013 at 8:22 pm said:

Wonderful and philosophical
- Sheila on February 13, 2013 at 8:30 pm said:
  
  Thank you – it seemed like this statue was trying to say something like that but who knows – it’s pretty mysterious.
lscotthoughts on February 13, 2013 at 8:30 pm said:

What an interesting statue and your writing is a perfect complement, Sheila! xx
- Sheila on February 13, 2013 at 8:42 pm said:
  
  Thanks Lauren! It’s a little on the depressing side, but I’ll blame that on the statue. 🙂
  - lscotthoughts on February 13, 2013 at 8:47 pm said:
    
    Well, that may be, but, yes, you wrote based on the photo and did an awesome job! 🙂
Perfecting Motherhood on February 14, 2013 at 1:51 am said:

Love it! Are these legs sticking out of the sidewalk behind the statue???
- Sheila on February 14, 2013 at 12:05 pm said:
  
  That’s what I thought at first but it’s some kind of a demon that’s grabbing at his ankle – pretty crazy statue!
  - Perfecting Motherhood on February 14, 2013 at 12:17 pm said:
    
    Wow, what a nightmare!
Deborah on February 14, 2013 at 2:17 am said:

Wow! I really liked that LOVE was the greater far reaching exertion !
- Sheila on February 14, 2013 at 12:07 pm said:
  
  In honor of Valentine’s Day, I tried to throw a little love in there.
rochellewisoff on February 14, 2013 at 6:35 am said:

Don’t we all battle our inner demons? Nice illustration of that, Sheila.
shalom,
Rochelle
- Sheila on February 14, 2013 at 12:24 pm said:
  
  Thanks Rochelle! Yes, and this made me wonder what it would be like to have to face those demons every day while walking by a statue like that.
eskaybe on February 14, 2013 at 8:49 am said:

You’ve given us a wonderful, thoughtful interpretation, Sheila. I believe that reaching is a good thing, but your subject does seem to be overdooing it a bit.
- eskaybe on February 14, 2013 at 8:53 am said:
  
  OopsI I meant to say ‘overdoing’. Perhaps the extra ‘o’ could be for emphasis…
- Sheila on February 14, 2013 at 12:34 pm said:
  
  Thank you – and yes it looks like he’s reaching a little too much! 🙂
David Stewart on February 14, 2013 at 9:06 am said:

Very nice. I guess we’re all reaching out for something in life.
- Sheila on February 14, 2013 at 12:45 pm said:
  
  It does seem to be one of those things humans do. Thank you for this photo – I love the whole feel of it and it was fun trying to imagine the story behind it.
Joe Owens on February 14, 2013 at 10:14 am said:

I am sure different days reveal different conflicts and some days the statue speaks in other ways to him. That is the allure of these types of art. It is a platform for beginning a thought, but can be so many things depending on the mood.
- Sheila on February 14, 2013 at 12:52 pm said:
  
  It made me wonder if that would happen too – depending on his mood or the weather. Maybe on a sunny day it wouldn’t look as creepy.
jmmcdowell on February 14, 2013 at 11:45 am said:

I love the character’s thoughts, and I’m curious what the artist’s actual inspiration and concept were. 🙂
- Sheila on February 14, 2013 at 12:57 pm said:
  
  Thank you! This was a really intriguing one. I might have to try to find out what the real story behind it is. It’s fun imagining all the possibilities.
Sandra on February 14, 2013 at 12:18 pm said:

I’m glad you saw the photo as being grey and depressing too! Enjoyed this reflective piece.
- Sheila on February 14, 2013 at 1:03 pm said:
  
  Yes, those rainy, gray days can take their toll and this photo definitely has that kind of a feel to it. Thank you – I’m glad you liked it!
k~ on February 15, 2013 at 2:18 pm said:

It is nice to have the time this morning/afternoon to peruse so many of the stories written. The perspectives of participant, observer, instigator, etc… are wonderfully displayed. This is my first read of the observer perspective and I found it refreshingly real. 🙂
- Sheila on February 15, 2013 at 2:50 pm said:
  
  Thanks! It is a lot of fun to see all the differences in the stories. It’s funny how statues and stories can be interpreted in so many different ways.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) on February 15, 2013 at 4:40 pm said:

Talk about overreaching,,, 🙂 love it
- Sheila on February 15, 2013 at 5:19 pm said:
  
  Thank you! The statue does look pretty horrified with all that reaching.
kz on February 15, 2013 at 11:58 pm said:

i really like the way this was written. a very different take. i love it. great work 🙂
- Sheila on February 19, 2013 at 12:36 pm said:
  
  Thank you – I really enjoyed yours too!
H.L. Pauff (@HLPauff) on February 16, 2013 at 12:10 pm said:

Let’s hope he reaches a happy place. Nice work
- Sheila on February 19, 2013 at 12:37 pm said:
  
  Yes – he looks like he needs one.
elmowrites on February 16, 2013 at 3:21 pm said:

Great description of the man’s feelings, Sheila. I’d love to see a longer version with a few other types of days described.
- Sheila on February 19, 2013 at 12:39 pm said:
  
  That’s a great idea. I did feel like I wanted to keep going after those 100 words so I might have to try that out. Thank you for visiting.
rich on February 17, 2013 at 7:41 am said:

well done and optimistic. consider a comma in this line: “Sometimes the demon was love(,) and then it wasn’t so bad.” it allows a slight pause, allows extra thought before the second part. it’s grammatically better but it also helps too.
- Sheila on February 19, 2013 at 12:44 pm said:
  
  Thank you for that suggestion! It’s funny because sometimes I feel like I add too many commas, but a pause probably would be better there. It reminds me of this Oscar Wilde quote: “I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again.” 🙂
claireful on February 17, 2013 at 9:33 am said:

I like how the man is just on his way, but this sculpture makes him stop and think. Your writing did that too.
- Sheila on February 19, 2013 at 12:45 pm said:
  
  Thank you – this photo really made me wonder what it would be like to walk by something like that every day.
letizia on February 17, 2013 at 6:45 pm said:

This is great!
- Sheila on February 19, 2013 at 12:45 pm said:
  
  Thank you – I’m glad you liked it!
4amWriter on February 18, 2013 at 4:17 am said:

Nice job. I really like ‘all that reaching could make a man fall” It makes me think about how often we strive for things that may not do us well in the end.
- Sheila on February 19, 2013 at 12:49 pm said:
  
  Thanks Kate! I might have also been subconsciously thinking of the query submission process. 🙂
carlyaz on February 19, 2013 at 1:49 pm said:

Nice stuff, Sheila! Glad to see the journey continues…

all my best…Dan
- Sheila on February 19, 2013 at 8:38 pm said:
  
  Thanks Dan! Yes, some journeys just might be never ending.
leamuse on February 28, 2013 at 3:00 am said:

It is a very interesting photo Sheila and great job of capturing the spirit of the image.
- Sheila on February 28, 2013 at 12:53 pm said:
  
  Thank you – the photo was taken by David Stewart (http://greenwalledtower.wordpress.com). It does have a lot of feeling to it.
Sartenada on March 16, 2013 at 3:42 am said:

Great art and so it is great finding by David. I am art lover and if I would meet this statue, would shoot photos from it immediately. Thank You for this post.
- Sheila on March 16, 2013 at 9:16 am said:
  
  I know what you mean – I love stumbling on statues like this too. They have so much feeling to them, so it’s a perfect photo to inspire different stories.