PHOTO PROMPT © Liz Young
HIGH ON LIFE
By Neel Anil Panicker
Esther Manuel Gomez was your regular teen, hell bent on exploring life, ever effervescent and knee deep in pranks.
Miss Cheerful always carried with her an infinite number of smiles and laughter that she distributed to all and sundry, especially the needy.
The last when I saw her and that was a couple of years ago, she was breezing past her final year at college while the weekends saw her warming the seat at a beautician’s front desk.
A phone call brought me back to town.
“ She’s dead. Overdose of drugs”.
Everyone was shocked, not least I, her brother.
(c)neelanilpanicker2017 # fiction #shortstory #100words
Written for Rochelle Wisoff-Field’s Friday Fictioneers. See here to join in and to read the other stories.
neelwritesblog 
Ouch. Tough comment on life. Well done.
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Thanks Kecia, I wanted to bring out the story of youth high on life but low on sense on how to handle life’s dangerous rollercoaster rides.
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For some the ends come quickly… sad state of the world.
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Some endings are very tragic. Life’s at times too harsh. Thanks Bjorn
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Wow! I worked with a guy like that, all smiles and laughing. Then, he killed himself. You just never know.
Wonderful story, Neel.
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i guess we can’t really know a person until we walk in his/her shoes. 😦
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So sad! And reminds me of that terrifying way that the phone can bring sudden news, good or bad.
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Oh man, Neel! You just knocked the wind out of me!!! How often do you hear of people who are all smiles on the outside but tormented on the inside.
So very well done…
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Very true, Dale. The world is full of such people who hide their sorrows and laugh and smile until the moment they quit unable to take the load anymore. Thank you Dale for your wonderfully appreciative comments. They are manna to a writer.
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Keep writing like this and you’ll only get positive feedback…and not just from me!
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Shocker of a last line.
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Thank you Sandra. That last line was the piece de resistance.
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Hard and realistic, even her brother doesn’t know how she feels behind the smiling mask. Well done.
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Dear Neel,
It’s often those “happy” people we least expect that leave us wondering why we didn’t see the signs. I’m sure his sister went out of her way to hide her feelings from him. The last line is punch to the gut. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yes, the world is full of such ‘seemingly’ happy people. Thank you Rochelle.
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Wow very touching! Thanks for sharing Neel!
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Thanks
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Anytime! Hope you are able to check out my short story blog sometime
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