We’ve been on vacation; I’m late! I’ll spare you the warm details as most of us are dealing with the start of winter, but it was lovely. However, my dear computer died, all alone in the room, while I was out frolicking. I am lost without her! Admittedly, I have the shakes and chills from withdrawal, and the mere idea that I won’t be able to get some of my work back, sends me into waves of nausea too. Send your healing thoughts, dear Friday Fictioneer friends! J (And no, I hadn’t backed it up in a couple of weeks, so all the new work is trapped on my dead Mac).
Now I’m home, and stole my son’s computer to do some catching up. It may be hard to get much reading done, as my time on his computer is limited, and I’m TERRIBLE with smart phones! I’ll do my best. Such a fabulous photo, by Roger Bultot; I couldn’t resist! Rochelle Wisoff-Fields is our dynamic leader. If you’d like to learn more about Friday Fictioneers, read other stories, or join in, visit her blog: Addicted To Purple, for more details.
© Roger Bultot
Light At The End of The Tunnel
(Sci-Fi)
“Hold my hand and stay close,” Chad cautioned Ella.
“I can barely see my own hands, let alone yours,” she whimpered.
“I feel fresh air; there must be an exit nearby. Don’t be afraid.”
Chad felt along the slimy walls with one hand, and tried to sound reassuring.
Three weeks since catastrophic blasts and the destruction of all they knew, and both teens were exhausted. Water was running low, as they made their way through the cold darkness.
“Look, there’s a light!”
“I don’t know whether to be grateful or afraid,” Ella whispered.
“There’s only one way to find out.”
(word count: 100)
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Great tale.Would love to know what is waiting in the light.
As for the Mac situation: if it were a windows/linux based system I’d reccomend ripping the hard drive out and hooking up to a PC to see if you can access files, but I have very slightly above zero experience with Macs so I don’t know if that’s possible in your case. Good luck! Hope you find a way to get your work back!
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Thanks Adam. I’m so bummed out, but more than anything, clearly addicted to my technology… got the shakes man! Thanks for you feedback; it’s much appreciated.
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So sorry to hear about your Mac, Dawn! I’ll keep my fingers crossed you can retrieve anything you can’t live without from the internal drive. I know I place in Madison, Wis. that does it. (Sent my son’s there twice over the years with great success, albeit costly.) Loved your tunnel piece. Hope to jump into the 100 word challenge one of the months. Jxo
>
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Yes, jump in! It’s such a fun, dynamic challenge each week. I look forward to it every week!
I’m keeping my fingers crossed, that tomorrow I get some good news from the Mac geniuses. Oh, my… shudder. Thanks J… which J? Embarrassing, but I’m not sure.
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Only one way to find out. That’s so true for every new thing we try 🙂
You can check to see if you have the partition by restarting your Mac and then holding down Command-R. Or, restart while holding down the Option key. A screen should appear with Recovery HD as one of your options. Otherwise Apple does have a good support system, so someone should be able to help.
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Thanks for the feedback, Subroto, on both the story and the Mac. The problem is, that each time I start it, it immediately shuts off again. Not sure I’ll have time to hold down any key! I’m hopelessly lame when it comes to this stuff. (What’s a “partition?” See!) I love our local Apple store; their staff is great! My fingers are crossed… unless I can get the Mac on, and then I’ll use my fingers to hold down Command-R! 😉 Thanks again!
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Dear Dawn,
I can clearly see the influence for your post apocalypse story. I’m absolutely OCD about backing up my writing. And when I leave home I take a thumb drive with all my writing.
I hope the guys’ suggestions work. I’ve nothing to offer since I don’t use a Mac. Best wishes, my friend and Chag Chanukah Sameach.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I generally have gotten much better about backing up, Rochelle, but not good enough–– clearly! I have 3 stories on there, right now, that I haven’t posted or backed up. Ugh. Live and learn. Chag Chanukah Sameach to you and yours, as well. Latkes tonight! 🙂
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Sympathies over your loss, but it didn’t stop you writing a good story!
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Thanks so much Liz! My son doesn’t exactly appreciate my taking his computer, but then… I bought it for him. 😉
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Very tense. I can imagine their mixed feelings as they head toward the light. After what you describe, I can’t imagine they’ll find anything good.
Sorry to hear about your Mac 😦
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Thanks so much Draliman. I appreciate your feedback and your sympathy. I’m in a real funk!
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I don’t know whether to be grateful or afraid. So many stiuations are like this ~ maybe not so intense, but it’s that, “do I go this way or that?” kind of thing. Great tension in this tale.
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Thanks Alicia. I couldn’t agree more… I feel this way a lot lately! 😉 I appreciate your feedback; thanks.
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Good story Dawn. I hope they find something they can live with outside the tunnel. Sorry you’ve had trouble with your computer. Some people can work wonders with them I’ve heard. I have a good repairman here. I did a backup just recently. Good thing too, as I’d neglected it. I print out anything on my WIP as soon as I type it. I’ve heard scary stories. Well done. — Suzanne
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I’ve been pretty good about backing up, but didn’t do it as regularly as I should. I’m hoping for full recover of data. Thanks so much for your feedback and support, Suzanne.
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Ah.. I hope there is something good at the end od that tunnel, a meadow with a stream some berries to pick in the sweet sun… Hope your technology gets fixed… It is possible.., and maybe it’s something minor,
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It’s not looking good for my computer, but I’m hoping our two teens find something sweet like that, Björn! Thanks for your feedback.
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I looked at the photo for a long pause to see if it spoke to me or if it might suggest where your story would take me. I imagined a lost portal in some dystopian landscape, not a leap from where your story took place. There is a magical quality to the image, not unlike a human-scale magic passage like Alice in Wonderland. I think our imaginations were in sync with this post.
Do you imagine there is a new computer awaiting you at the end of the tunnel? That would be a nice surprise! – Mike
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Oh my, the indestructable Mac has been whacked by the unsavory virus villain. You have described my biggest nightmare. I print everything because I am so paranoid … and … old fashioned about whether to trust a computer. UGH … I don’t back-up as much as I should. Leaving now to get a memory stick. Sorry about the death. Hope you can get some good news from Apple.
Your story if great. I could feel the fear in both of the characters. Oddly, i never noticed the light in the photo. This is why I enjoy reading the works of others. Everyone see something else.
Chag Chanukah Sameach
Isadora 😎
Ummm … it’s a long story but I grew up in an orthodox Jewish neighborhood.
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Chag Chanukah Sameach, Isadora. Thanks for the feedback. I agree, it’s always fun to see what various readers see, in the same photo. As for my Mac, the mother board was fried, so I’m out of luck with that… but have got a new computer, and it’s already up and running! My advice: run to Costco and get an external hard drive, and then back up your computer regularly, and keep it at home. USB sticks are easy to loose, and printing up everything makes for a lot of paper used… environmentally, back up and sleep well. 🙂
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Thans for the advice on getting an external drive. I’m always frustrated when I need to print. The paper and ink get expensive plus environmentally I think of another tree in the world somewhere being cut down. Are you saying to leave the lap top home or the external drive home?
I like to take my laptop on vacations to add my photos so I can edit as I take them. I use a desk top at home. Sorry about the lengthy comment.
COngratulations on the new computer. It’s astonishing how quickly we get a new one. A metal drug. 😄
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I was told to keep the hard drive in a safe place and NOT travel with it. I take my computer everywhere, so no… not that! You just don’t want to lose the hard drive. I have one for writing and one for photos. Hope that helps. 🙂
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Yes, it does … thank you very much. 😄
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