Friday Fictioneers
4 September 2026
After Closing
The flea-market owner switched off the lights at six.
“Goodnight, ladies,” he joked.
Forty-seven glass eyes watched him leave.
At midnight, the smallest doll opened hers.
“Is he gone?”
A head on the top shelf nodded.
One by one, porcelain faces turned toward the window.
Below them, the coloured bottles began to tremble.
By morning, everything was perfectly still again.
The owner unlocked the door and frowned.
Yesterday there had been forty-three dolls.
Today there were forty-four.
He picked up the unfamiliar one.
It wore tiny spectacles.
And around its neck hung a miniature copy of his shop key.
Upstairs, someone giggled.
PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
With love, coffee, poetry, and stardust,
— Maggie The Afterlove Voice 💫
My new song “Silenced But Not Broken ” is now out on all streaming platforms 💜
https://ditto.fm/silenced-but-not-broken
Lyrics Video :
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