Do you know the definition of a folly?
I didn’t. Until we met. Before that, I lived my life in the office. I brought lunch just so I could work through break. That day, I spilled my lunch on the ground, the whole system was down and the paper copies were disorganized. I ended up going to eat lunch at what was proclaimed by coworkers as the best food stands in the city. I ate alone, finding a bench in the courtyard in front of a rather large structure.
I was scrolling through my phone when she sat next to me. It was a park, people were allowed to sit on any bench they chose so I didn’t look up. And then she turned to me and asked me, “Do you know the definition of a folly?”
That was when I really looked up and saw her smiling at me. I’ll admit I didn’t think she was talking to me at first and glanced around. I, of course, said a folly was something foolish.
She laughed.
A small, delicate laughter that seemed to shimmer through the air.
“Of course, you would define it as that.” she said and smiled at me. “But did you know, a folly can also be defined as a large, costly ornamental building with no practical purpose usually built in a garden or park? Such as the one behind us.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. So I ate and I left. But her laughter and her smile stayed with me. I got practically no work done for the rest of the day and chalked it up to a disaster. Truth be told, she intrigued me. So when I went to work the next day, I didn’t take a lunch. When lunch break came, much to the surprise of my coworkers, I went to the food stands again.
As I stood in line for lunch, I glanced at the bench I had sat on last time. It was empty. I got my food and sat down. But I didn’t pull out my phone. I ate my lunch and listened the sound of the birds and the breeze. I waited, without admitting I was waiting, for the sound of someone approaching. I even looked up a few times at people walking by. A couple strolling. A person out for an afternoon jog. But, really, I was waiting to see if she would sit by me again.
When lunch was almost over, I felt a fool. To base everything on one interaction. Crunching the wrapper I had into a tiny ball, frustrated with myself, I looked at the ground. Then I heard the sound of heels and turned to see her walking up.
“Well, hello. Come to sit by my folly?” she smiled as she sat.
And that began our lunches. I stopped bringing lunch to work. I stopped working through lunch. Every day we sat there together.
It became our folly.
Sometimes I arrived first and sometimes she did. And one day, I finally got up the courage to ask her why she liked this folly so much.
“Because…” she said. “It has no practical purpose. It exists to exist. I think sometimes people are so concerned with being practical that we forget… to exist in the moment.”
Every day since I realized the truth in her words.
She taught me to exist while we can…
…Until we don’t. To listen to the birds, and pay attention to the people around us. The true folly in life, is letting it all pass us by.
Author’s Notes: Hey readers, so as the Image on the Top states, this is my entry for the April Monthly SimLit Short Story Challenge in the Novice. I had a lot of fun writing this and am looking forward to doing it again each month as time allows. I hope you also enjoyed the departure from my usual characters.
Now there are rules for both writers and readers of this SimLit challenge. I will have to remain within word limits, screenshot counts and, of course, be on theme for each month’s entry.
And if any of you decide to vote, you MUST read ALL entries and vote for your top three in BOTH categories (Novice and Veteran). If you do not vote for three in each category then your vote will not count. Voting will be open the first week after the end of submissions (ex: April’s Monthly Submissions are due April 30th by midnight and voting will be open from May 1st to May 7th). I plan to vote myself as there are a ton of wonderful submissions and am highly anticipating the chance.
LisaBeeSims had outlined all of this on her blog and on the page in the Sims Forums (found here). There is also a Facebook Page for those who want to like and follow. Make sure to bookmark these pages and check out all the amazing writers that are participating. Or if you are a writer looking for an opportunity, check it out and enter it! I encourage you because there are so many people who have encouraged me and I hope to pass it forward.
Happy simming!
Edit: This piece placed 2nd in the April SimLit Short Story Challenge Novice Division. Thank you SO much to everyone who read it and voted for it. Couldn’t be happier!!
This is a wonderful tale. I love the message.
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Awh thank you! 🙂
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This is totally adorable … FAB take on the story!!!
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Thank you…April, that is the girl characters name, just came clearly into my head. It was all her. All I did was write her story.
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I loved the way you wove it all together 🙂
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I love this short story. A wonderful breath of fresh air and a lovely message for a workaholic to enjoy life. Bravo!
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Thank you so much, soulgal7.
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Such a great truth he was fortunate enough to learn…..
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It is. Thanks for reading. 🙂
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Beautiful story. I was right there on the bench. Waiting..
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I’m glad my short story spoke to you. Thanks for reading it. 🙂
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What a wonderful story and beautifully written. I enjoyed your use of the secondary definition of folly. Everyone needs a folly in their lives.
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Thank you. I was going for different take on it. Looked up the definition and the quote just came to mind and from there the story just unfolded itself. I’m a firm believer in listening to the little voices in my head. They always have the bets stories to tell lol
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Oooh, you had the same idea as I had – although my folly never made it into the story that I ended up with. But I love that definition – and love how you twisted the folly with foolish love and life. He looks so sad at the end. I hope he can take his own advice and embrace the folly of life again sometime.
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I like to think he will… someday. Because she would have wanted him to. But losing someone you love can still be hard and it will take time. At least he realized what he was missing and got to enjoy the world through her eyes for a while. He’ll always have that.
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Exactly. Definately he should take proper time to mourn. 😦 My heart goes out to him. 😀
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Such a beautifully tragic story!
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Awh thank you.
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This was an awesome story! I loved the characters and message it carried. Life does pass by too quickly, so enjoy it while you can. It’s a great lesson for any workaholic and something we all need to remember.
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I whole heatedly agree. Thanks for reading nightingale.
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Ah, geez ! I adore this! I love how waiting for her to show made him pause and changed him.
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Thanks for reading. I’m really glad you enjoyed it. I think we all have moments that can do this for us, the question is if you pursue it.
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You have given me chill bumps over reading something so beautifully written & interconnected to those bigger life questions/experiences .. bravo! 💜
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Awh thank you so much for reading and thank you for the compliments. Its always nice to hear your writing is well received.
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I love this different take on folly. The folly of taking life for granted, living to work instead of living to live. This story is beautiful and so well told. I could feel all the protagonist’s emotions throughout.
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I’m very happy it rang true with you.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment.
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