Visitation

~ Nortina S.

Grant hesitates at the entrance. The chamber is filled with rows of chairs similar to church pews. From the back wall, men dressed in dull green jumpsuits file through a steel door.

“How do they keep them from running off?”

“They shoot,” Grant’s mother says flatly. She pushes him forward to follow the guard, who shoulders a rifle.

The guard sits them across from a middle-age man scratching his graying beard. Sunlight pours in from the window and reflects off his handcuffs.

Grant blinks several times to refocus his vision, then stares into the familiar dark brown eyes. “Hi, Dad.”

word count: 100

—Nortina

© J Hardy Carroll
© J Hardy Carroll

I’m back from a long hiatus with another Friday Fictioneers story. 

Friday Fictioneers challenges you to write a story in 100 words or less using the provided photo prompt as inspiration. Click the froggy icon to read other stories and add your own.

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32 thoughts on “Visitation”

    1. Thanks Lynn. I really wanted to explore what it would be like for a child to visit a parent in prison. That’s always been a topic of debate — whether or not it’s a good idea — especially for fathers and sons. I still don’t know if I really have an answer either way.
      Thanks for reading!

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      1. It’s a difficult topic. I know someone going through this with a grown up son and the experience sounds traumatic for the family so I can’t imagine how hard it is for small children to see a parent in prison. Hard choices all round.

        Liked by 1 person

  6. I know that his father must have done something bad to land in that position, but I still can’t help but feel sorry for him. And definitely for the rest of the family. Well told, Nortina!

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    1. Thanks for reading! I feel the same way. Yes, it was his actions that brought him there, but at the same time, you hope his sentence isn’t long so that he can be with his family.

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      Reply

  10. Interesting last line. He finds his Dad there. I wonder if the fact the prisoners would get shot, would stop prisoners from trying. Some might anyways. Maybe they would rather not be in here because it’s suffocating, at what lies ahead could be better?

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    1. I feel like the majority of prisoners don’t try to escape, even when there’s ample opportunity. They just settle in their misery until their sentence is up. You can kind of compare it to slavery in that sense.

      Liked by 1 person

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