PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot
Once a month for ten years, each of the six received a plain white envelope with two-hundred in twenties. It had gotten them by in thin times and made possible a few extras in good times – until their neighborhood’s gentrification meant others’ envelopes with eviction notices.
Impending homelessness had them knocking on each others’ doors. Talking. Sharing. Learning. Planning.
Nick, the locksmith, picked the lock to the surveillance bulb’s PC room. Jill and John watched the videos. Jane researched facial recognition on their mysterious benefactor. Dotty and Phil went to see her.
The six now own the building.
[99 words]
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields is the word-loving host of Friday Fictioneers.
Tao Talk 
Great take on the prompt
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Many thanks, Sadje. Wasn’t sure where it was leading me but I like where it led.
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So did I! 🙏🙏
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Seems they were rewarded for breaking and entering and violating their benefactor’s privacy. I wonder if blackmail was involved too
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May be! 🙂
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Sorry to say this was too clever for me.
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Thanks for trying. I had fun with it 🙂
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Man, I wish I lived in that apartment block and had a benefactor dropping off money! 🙂
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Me too! 🙂
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They were fortunate to have such a benefactor!
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Yes they were!
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Intriguing! I have a feeling the benefactor may have been coerced into it.
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Maybe we’ll never know 😉
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Give me a benefactor! 200 in 1’s, 10’s, or 20’s…I’m not picky.
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LOL!
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great story! ❤ ❤
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Thank you, Carol anne and glad you enjoyed it.
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A benefactor dropping off two hundreds__oh my gosh! One twos, hundreds__all denominations welcome! Tell me Lisa, where do I find one! Lovely story!
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Thanks so much, Neel. I thought I’d have a flight of fiction into the silly realms 🙂
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Well, that went well! Nice one.
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If only! My rationale is that the group figured they would ask for lump sums to buy the building before the owner sold it and they became homeless. The benefactor concurred 🙂
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Oh! What a smart and determined group, and such a happy ending 🙂
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I know! I was really happy for them 🙂
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Great story. Just shows what happens when people cooperate!
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Yes! Thanks so much for reading and your comment.
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A concerning time for them, it seems. But then Dotty and Phil must have convinced the owner by appealing to their better nature.
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Yes. Who knows what is motivating the benefactor but it doesn’t seem like anything negative.
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Faced with homelessness, they ended up owning the building. Wow, I love this. Had me smiling!
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Yes, in the fictional realm such things can happen 🙂
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p.s. Thank you and glad you enjoyed it.
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Dear Lisa,
I’ll admit to being a little confused by this one. I mean I’m glad it worked out for the six but…scratching my head.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Rochelle:
Its genre: fantasy 🙂 Thank you.
Shalom,
Lisa
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i bet, this is something that happens only in the movies. 🙂
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🙂
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Those mailboxes look familiar…I’ve actually known some people who squatted in their buildings in the 70s and were allowed to get together and buy them for almost nothing when the landlords abandoned them. Part of the contract is they are not allowed to make a big profit when they sell their apartments. It’s not a bad way to let the community invest in itself. I’m not sure it happens any more though. Real estate is too profitable. (K)
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Kerfe, so cool to know it wasn’t total fantasy then. Food, clothing, and owning your own shelter should be the national dream. Too many landlords exploiting too many people.
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There are. And if you just give people a place to call their own, most of them will grow with it.
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❤
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That would be a great benefactor to have. I could see this as a longer piece, even a novel. I enjoyed it. Also, gotta say I always love your theme for the blog. I used the same for my Green-Walled Treehouse blog so it always feels so familiar when I visit yours. 🙂
-David
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Yes it would, David, and I’m glad my blog feels familiar to you 🙂 I changed it to this a month or so ago and love how it looks now.
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Hmm … I’m shaking my head here. At the tenants-turned-‘owners’ … not at the writing. .. 🙂 Good work, you!
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Thanks, Na’ama. They were just as surprised 😉
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I bet … 😉
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Sounds a bit like some blackmail going on there, though I don’t know what they found out about their benefactor that could have given them leverage…
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It is all a bit … mysterious!
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Love the twist at the end. Good story Ms. Jadeli.
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Thanks, GiN glad you like it.
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What a fascinating, uplifting story. Thanks for making me smile.
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Thanks, Anne glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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I like the way your characters cooperate to achieve the result they want. It’s an imaginative take on the prompt.
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Thanks, Penny!
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An inventive story, I liked the idea of the gang’s solidarity in hard times. And what an amazing payoff.
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🙂 Thank you!
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Luckily, their benefactor complied.
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Oh so they found the person? Fabulous
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