© Ted Strutz
Quickly scanning the document John signed the bank papers. He was safe as he was not the only guarantor and glad to help the Pacific islanders in their business venture that would take two years to complete.
The snails were ripe for transport to the French market. Fat and juicy. Carefully packed in the refrigerated container they waited on the wharf for the ship. The islanders were excited. The snails would fetch a good price.
The wharf manager, to conserve costs, cut the power. The snails boiled in the tropical sun and their own slime. John discovered he was sole guarantor.
word count 100
Every Friday authors from around the world gather here to share their 100-words and offer constructive crit and encouragement to each other. This creates a wonderful opportunity for free reading of very fresh fiction! Readers are encouraged to comment as well. Join Rochelle and see the others
About Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist
I began my working career as a reluctant potato peeler whilst waiting to commence my training as a student nurse. On completion I worked mainly in intensive care/coronary care; finishing my hospital career as clinical nurse educator in intensive care. A life changing period as a resort owner/manager on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu was followed by recovery time as a farmer at Bucca Wauka. Having discovered I was no farmer and vowing never again to own an animal bigger than myself I took on the Barrington General Store. Here we also ran a five star restaurant. Working the shop of a day 7am - 6pm followed by the restaurant until late was surprisingly more stressful than Tanna. On the sale we decided to retire and renovate our house with the help of a builder friend. Now believing we knew everything about building we set to constructing our own house. Just finished a coal mine decided to set up in our backyard. Definitely time to retire we moved to Queensland. I had been writing a manuscript for some time. In the desire to complete this I enrolled in a post grad certificate in creative Industries which I completed 2013. I followed this by doing a Master of Arts by research graduating in 2017. Now I live to write and write to live.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
Oh my how wasteful!
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Yes. All that hard work for nothing
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Uh oh. Poor John, done in by the wharf manager. Good short.
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Thanks Noelle.
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IRENE ! – you are a cynic ! I didn’t realize.
[grin]
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I’m a bit of everything M-R. A chameleon perhaps.
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Nuffing better ! 🙂
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And I bet they smiled in that slime! Sharp writing!
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Thanks. I have visions of the slime coming out in those horrible bubbles.
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Eeeewwww…
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🙂
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Oh dear!!
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🙂
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Oh John, quelle domage! I bet the smell was interesting. Nicely done.
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Thanks Patrick, a shame indeed.
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Boiling in your own slime… not a pretty thought. Nicely done.
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Thanks Sandra. I guess the snails were doomed anyway but such a loss
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Guess he got boiled too. Sad. 😦 especially for the snails.
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Well and truly roasted. The snails were doomed anyway but the others…..
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The snails boiling in their own slime…yuck! That one will stay with me all day. Very original story.
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Thanks Amy, The vision has stayed with me also. thanks for visiting
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Ouch.. poor John. I hope they throw the wharf manager off the island
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John certainly was the big loser as the snails were bound for boiling (if that is what is done with snails) anyway. Cheers
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Always cutting costs, those managers! You think it was coming out of their own pockets.
Lily
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Silly isn’t it – such a small saving for such a huge loss.
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Dear Irene,
One thoughtless pull of the plug made quite a stink, didn’t it? Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yes Cut more than one lifeline when he pulled that plug. Thanks Rochelle. Cheers Irene
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Oh no. Poor John. Poor islanders. I hope they can source some more snails and get them successfully on board. A sad tale.
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I fear it bankrupted the venture but you never know.
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Not only did you tell this story in 100 words, you made those snails irresistibly snarky. Good job Irene.
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Thanks Katyi
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One thoughtless act caused huge problems, which is often the way.
Nicely told, though snails boiling in their own slime is an image I could do without!
Well done
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Thank you Dee. I quite agree the image isn’t that agreeable but vivid. It is so often the way that a thoughtless act can snowball with disastrous results. Thanks for dropping by.
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