Thanks to Marie Gail Stratford for the unusual photo for the prompt this week and to Rochelle for her unswerving dedication to Friday Fictioneers.
Copyright Marie Gail Stratford
Genre: Fiction
Word Count: 100
Waiting Room
Children play quietly with toys in the corner, they look up as a parent or grandparent walks from a consulting room to the x-ray department. I watch them as I wait for you to come back to me.
Not able to sit still, I join a line of worried relatives at the coffee bar. We buy coffee, tea, cake – anything to fill our minds, to give us a moment free from doubt and fear. No-one mentions the word we all dread, but ‘what if’ is whispered and hands are clasped tight.
Then suddenly, you’re walking towards me.
And you’re smiling.
40again's Blog 
After reading the suspenseful story I was so happy that he came out smiling!
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Thank you Joy 😀
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Wow, you really captured what that incredible tension in the waiting room is like. My heart leapt at the last line — so relieved!
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Thank you Joy, so pleased you liked it.😀
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This story is played out every day, in every hospital in the world. You nailed that feeling of anxiety. Good piece.
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Thank you Tracey, glad you thought so.
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Yay! Another uplifting one!
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Thanks Dale, it nearly went the other way…:)
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The waiting is almost as bad as the disease.
Good piece.
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The waiting and wondering and hoping is dreadful. Thanks for reading Mick.
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That’s a scene that must get played out in thousands of waiting rooms every day of the week, but it still held that moment of suspense and relief. Well done, Dee.
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Pleased you thought so, and glad you are home safe and sound 🙂
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Oh, what relief at the end, I’m happy for them.
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Thank you Bjõrn 😀
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A happy ending = well done. I could visualise that waiting room perfectly.
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Thank you Liz 😀
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I guess that colonoscopy wasn’t so bad after all.
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Well he was smiling at any rate …
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The feeling of time standing dtill, and that knot in the stomach because of the not knowing is perfectly described. I’m so glad this ends well. Not knowing is the worst.
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Thank you. I’m glad it ended well too, I wasn’t sure as which way it would go.
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Out of the park with this one, Dee. Subtle and yet so powerful, I love the way you brought the reader along.
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Thank you Dawn, always good to hear from you.
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You kept the suspense up beautifully and let us gently down. Great job.
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Thank you Alicia pleased you liked it 😀
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You developed the tension really well here, Dee. And I’m super glad for the happy ending.
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Thank you Sandra, I’m pleased it ended well too
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yes, we’ve all been there – and a good reflection of it. Randy
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Thanks Randy
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The toys are not just for play They’re there for our mental health, too. I’m glad it was good news in the end. Nicely written, Dee.
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Thank you Amy 😀
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Beautifully done, conveyed a lot in a very subtle way.
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Thank you, pleased you liked it 😀
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Yay! I love a happy ending.
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Me too !
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