Photo courtesy Ted Strutz
“Doctor, our son, Bruce, loves bicycles.”
“Lots of people love them, that’s no reason to come to a child psychologist.”
“Well, we are forced to buy him a new bicycle every year.”
“He outgrows it that soon?”
“No no, he tries to ride it every year on his birthday but…”
“Go on, I’m listening….”
“Well, he just cannot maintain his balance and falls down, so he turns into a raging monster and smashes the cycle to bits.”
“Don’t worry Mrs. Banner, a lot of kids his age have anger issues, I’m sure he’ll outgrow this phase very soon.”
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98 words.
Written as a part of the Friday Fictioneers challenge hosted by the awesome Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (more details HERE). The objective is to write a short story of 100 words or less based on the photo prompt given above.
To read the other stories based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.
jagahdilmein 
Haha, little did they know! 🙂
Eggjaktly. Thank you so much Iain.
Great story, Anurag. Really liked the dialogue too.
Thank you so much Moon.
Bahahaha hilariously told. I’m green with envy 😉
Thank you so much Laurie. I was debating whether to add some more hints like ‘green’, but decided to keep whatever was coming organically.
Loved it! Perfect amount of hints 😉
Dear Anurag
Don’t make Mr. Banner’s son angry. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry. 😉 I had to read it a couple of times to get it and that’s okay. Good job!
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks Rochelle. Was wondering if I had kept it too subtle, but then decided to go with what the story demanded organically.
Simple and elegant.
Thank you so much yarnspinnerr.
Great dialogue. I enjoyed this story.
Thank you so much Clare.
Oh, good one! Did the kid turn green, too?
Ha ha ha ha ha. I have a feeling that he did. There is an old saying in Hindi- Poot ke paanv paalne mein. Literally translated, it means the feet of a child are visible in the cradle itself. What it actually means is that the signs of your future talent, behavior, success, or failure, are visible from your childhood itself.
I believe that. I had four babies, and pretty much knew their personalities within two weeks.
The title snagged me, and the dialogue carried me through your story. I liked the, ‘I’m listening,’ dismissive I am not listening comment from the therapist.
Frasier’s dad had once composed a radio jingle using this phrase. It got stuck in my head more than Frasier’s usage on his actual radio show itself 🙂
Ha.. I guess that if you go green too easily maybe anger management comes first.
Eggjaktly
That was delightful. I enjoyed the simplicity of the story.
Thank you so much Susan
Talk about living in La-la land! I suspect if the psychologist himself had a run-in with an angry Bruce, he would have different advice for Mom and Dad. Good dialogue.
Thank you so much Christine
i think he has anger issues. hopefully, he’ll outgrow it as soon as he starts noticing girls. 🙂
Oh dear, I don’t think he will grow out of it. Hulk smash 🙂
Eggjaktly
This made me smile, great take. I can imagine with his size he’s never going to manage to balance on a bike.
Ha ha, that image was how I started off with the story in my head 🙂 Thank you so much Michael.
You’re welcome
Uh oh. Anger issue, yes, but at least he puts it to creative use. Who knows where his anger will lead him? Great take on the prompt! Happy New Year!
Thank you so much Jan.
I think the parents need professional help. Just saying.
Oh! Delightful!
Thank you so much Alicia.
my pleasure.
With his temper, Bruce probably smashes a lot of other things as well! I suppose his parents are too afraid of him to stop buying new bicycles. Fun take on the prompt.
Thank you so much Magarisa.
I turned green with envy.
Ha ha ha. Thank you so much
I don’t suppose they dare not to replace the bikes he trashes. Reinforcing behaviour, I think. Good one.
Thank you so much Sandra.
Not having read any superhero comics for over fifty years, I was rather lost with this. Your therapist was wonderfully ineffectual.
I am so sorry Penny. That, of course, was a clear danger with writing this story, it makes sense only if one has been exposed to the Incredible Hulk in some form or other.
I have a feeling the good doctor has no idea what’s happening there. Or maybe he has a bad feeling about it and doesn’t want to get involved. Good and humorous writing, Anurag. 😀 — Suzanne
Thank you so much Suzanne.