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The Last Junction

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Our gracious host, Rochelle, is asking us to get
creative in 100 words or less using the photo
seen below. Welcome to Friday Fictioneers.
This is where the prompt took me.

© Dale Rogerson

The sign confused him. Desmond squinted at the arrows.

“You understand it?” the Attendant asked.

“Not really.”

“One lane continues downward to permanent sleep. No dreams, no memory, no escape. Nothingness.” The Attendant traced the black arrow. “The red path curves back. Another life. But that triangle means yield …. your memories, your pride, everything you were. Gone.”

Desmond thought of his granddaughter’s laugh. Early mornings watching birds from his kitchen window.

“I’ll take the red path,” he said quietly.

“Are you certain? Do you understand what you’re surrendering?”

“Yes.” He stepped forward. “But I have faith.”

The Attendant winced.

NAR©2026
100 Words

This is “Faith” by George Michael

20 March 2026

Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.

40 thoughts on “The Last Junction”

  1. We make so many decisions everyday, and most of them have wiggle room. These choices seem so final. Makes me wonder if he’s leaving his loved one and his pleasures behind — or if they’ve already left him. Good story with an ambiguous ending that includes an ominous last line.

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  4. great story for this unqiue sign and I like the choice he made (reminded me of the pills from the Matrix) but I also like this oine for how it can apply to general fresh starts: “means yield …. your memories, your pride, everything you were…”

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      1. I do not know much about the sequels – but the “take the red pill or the blue pill” originates from the 1999 film The Matrix, where the character Neo is offered a choice:
        Symbolically, the red pill represents awakening to uncomfortable truths, self-discovery, and confronting reality, while the blue pill signifies choosing comfort, denial, and the illusion of control.

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          1. Thanks for the reply, Nancy – and I think the Matrix was ahead of its time for the 1999 movie – but then sadly, their third sequel was all silly action – like the 2015 Jason Bourne movie – some of these films get huge budgets and they forget to hire good wirters and assume everyone wants only action with good cameras. sigh! never skim on the writing

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  11. I think Desmond made the right choice. Either way the memories are gone; however, there is a chance to make new ones and who knows? He may encounter these loved ones and be able to recreate new memories…

    Beautifully done, cara mia.

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  13. Great story. Thank you for sharing.

    Your weird road sign reminds of a driving test I once took. Had to do it for the company I worked for at the time to drive company vehicles. I missed a bunch of the road signs because we just don’t have those in Kentucky. The one that sticks out in my mind was for a harbor. I looked at the instructor and said, “sir, we are in the middle of KY, in the middle of no where, show me a harbor.” I still got it wrong. But he understood why when 90% of the class missed it.

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    1. If my memory from geography class is correct, Kentucky is a landlocked state. Was that some kind of weird trick question on your driving test? Funny how certain things stick with us, isn’t it? Thanks for sharing that blast from the past, Jolene.

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