Frank worried about anything and everything, just lately he had started fretting about the fact that he was constantly worrying over trivial matters, and this fretting became a cause for deep concern, and although he tried not to let it, the concern itself was something which became a cause for much worry.
The doctor had told him that the itchy inflammation all over his body was just a nerve rash and nothing to worry about, but as the itching increased, and subsequently his scratching intensified, so did his anxiety, and he became extremely stressed about his fretting over his anxiety regarding the worrying concerning his nerve rash.
Frank sat in a bath full of hot water, which did nothing to alleviate the effects of the nerve rash, or for that matter, the worry over the stress caused by the fretting about the anxiety concerning his nerve rash.
He picked up the straight razor from the table at the side of the bath, and immediately began worrying over whether he would be doing the right thing.
©2010 Stephen. J. Green.
I'd be more likely, disgusting as it is, to shave off the rash than to slit my wrists. My way wouldn't help, but self-mutilation can be a nasty habit.
ReplyDeleteSo much worrying! But it looks as if his final worry is the one that truly matters. Good story!
ReplyDeleteThanks guys.
ReplyDeleteJohn, you're making me cringe more than the story. (Which I intended to be dark humour, I'm not sure if it worked or not yet though.) :-D
Eric, I think by the time Frank dithered about whether he was doing the right thing or not, he would have probably died of old age. :-D
Hey well done! I think you did hit 'dark humour'. I laughed at his circle of worrying although I think constant itching mixed with anxiety could leave someone in quite a crazed state! Poor guy, at least his dithering might save him in the end.
ReplyDeleteJohn, my toes curled at the thought of a rash being shaved off.
Oh, this was definitely funny, dark humour for sure. Perfect ending!
ReplyDeleteHi Steve - Aieee... Well put together. I'm glad you stopped the story where you did - but in the nicest possible way.
ReplyDeleteHi all, thanks for reading.
ReplyDeleteSusan, with all the overlapping ways of worrying in there, I wasn't even sure if the logic worked or not, thank you for the very positive comment, and Yes, as for John's comment, Yeeuurrch! (shudders) :-D
Thanks Maria, I'm glad it gave you a chuckle, the story gave me a giggle too, but not everyone has the same humour.
Stephen, thanks, I think the guy has enough problems without me killing him off.....( or DOES he?... Bwuhahahahahaha! )
It's scary about the way that worry can escalate and people do worry about worrying. I'm guessing his worrying about whether he's doing the right thing will mean he'll probably worry about that too and never get anything done...
ReplyDeleteHi Icy, I think you are probably right, worriers are not always doers.
ReplyDeleteIf he is going to shave off the rash, I think he should worry some more. Fun story, but it makes me a little nervous :)
ReplyDeleteI'm really worried about razors Steve. I think you managed to get your message across!
ReplyDeleteHi guys.
ReplyDeleteJason, I kind of left the ending open a little bit, and John came up with a scenario that I never thought of, in fact, I find his ending scarier than the possibilities that I had in mind.
Denise, sharp things like razors scare the pants off me too, but they make for good scary story writing, don't they?
I love the way you wrote this piece, with the words and sentences running together to show how this character's mind raced from thought to thought without ever stopping. Brilliant.
ReplyDeleteThanks Stephen, I originally wrote it as all one paragraph, but decided it was slightly easier on the eye, and the inner voice, when it was broken down a bit.
ReplyDeletePoor guy ... I hope he does dither long enough to find another way to deal with all his worries!
ReplyDeleteHi Janet, I'm sure he'll be okay, no worries. :-D
ReplyDeleteI can prove that worrying works. Most of the things I worry about never happen.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, this is probably true for most people Tim, thanks for reading.
ReplyDeleteI loved this. It's so true to life sometimes it's scary. Very nicely done.
ReplyDeleteThanks Danielle, although everyone tends to worry about small things occasionally, I hope no-one gets to the stage poor Frank did.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably his anxiety and worry that's giving him the rash in the first place... Ah, vicious circle.
ReplyDeleteI hope he worries too much to go through with it. :)
Good story!
Thanks Gracie, yes, the anxiety, or the fretting, is definitely causing the nerve rash, but the doctor told him the rash is nothing to worry about....Hmmmm...
ReplyDeleteAs a chronic worrier myself, I saw both the humor and the tragedy in this. Well done. :)
ReplyDeleteI think suicide for such a worry-wart would present far too many new worries to worry about for him to actually follow through.
ReplyDeleteDark and funny, great combo!
(A little worried about John now.);)
That was one dark story, Steve. Nice. I can hardly wait for the sequel...
ReplyDeleteI like how you took worried to death and made it literal. Well, maybe, I think he's got a long way to worry before razor edge meets flesh. I liked the wording of "nerve rash" emphasizes the irrationality to me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading guys.
ReplyDeleteSeleste, thank you, and as Tim pointed out, worrying can sometimes be a good thing, as most of the things we worry about never happen. :-D
Harry, Hahaha, thank you, that is definitely one of the possible endings.
And I'm a little worried about John too, but the trouble is, I've started fretting about my worrying about John..... (goes off to run a bath....) :-D
Alan, thank you for the very kind words, I just may write a sequel if a possible scenario comes to mind.
Aidan, thank you, I'm not even sure if nerve rashes are related to worrying or not. (oops, now I have something else to worry about) :-D
Steve, your intention of dark humor worked perfectly. This is the first I've read in some time that was both funny and chilling. I feel for the narrator. Great job!
ReplyDeleteDeanna, thank you for your very kind comment, humour is like music, tastes vary, but I am happy that so many people liked the story.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little worried that I identify with this character and even more worried that I thought this was funny. I'm worried that perhaps I'm worrying too much about the dark humor in this piece.After all, worrying killed the poor guy... or did it? I'm worried about him...
ReplyDelete:)
Catherine, thank you for reading, I'm more worried about you worrying about your worrying, please... try not to worry so much, and should you start feeling anxious, don't be concerned about it. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou certainly packed a lot of punch into this flash. I love how you show the circular thinking of someone in this kind of emotional state. The ending was killer, because really he may not be about to kill himself, maybe he's just going to try to slice off some skin. My skin is crawling now. Thanks. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel, glad you liked it, another possibility is that he was about to shave off his moustache, and was worried if he would look okay without it. :-D
ReplyDeleteThis one cracks me up! It reminds me of my wife, who claims she's going to have a heart attack b/c she worries so much about her health.
ReplyDeleteWell done.
Hi Matt, and thank you, I think it may not be such a bad thing for a person to worry about their health, just so ,long as they don't start fretting about the worrying. :-D
ReplyDeleteThis was really funny. Worrying doesn't get us anywhere good does it, so perhaps this story was timely as much worry seems to come with the holiday season. Nicely written Steve!
ReplyDeleteHi Gen, thanks, you are definitely right about the festive season, people worrying about what to get for whom etc, and also the financial stress that many people feel at this time of the year.
ReplyDeleteVery dark, but funny at the same time. I'm sure there is far too much worry in this world!
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca, I think you are right, but as Tim pointed out, the upside is that most of the bad things we worry about never happen. :-D
ReplyDeleteSteve, i like the way you have built up anxiety in the sentences, worry upon worry. It has a comic effect, but then, people who worry like this tend to have that effect. I know. My mother is one of them.
ReplyDeleteThe word razor always makes me feel uncomfortable. A sharp word for a sharp object.
Really enjoyed this quickie.
Hi Flyingscribbler, thank you for reading, and for the kind words. I think the word 'razor' probably makes many people feel uncomfortable, they have been used to horrific effect in so many stories and films haven't they?
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