“And I know that’s only a couple of jobs for you to check out this week, but something’s better than nothing, right?” the Job Source woman says brightly.
“Here, let me get all of my worldly possessions out of the way,” Jane says, seeing the people waiting their turn.
“Oh, ha-ha, well I’m sure there’s a certain freedom in starting over from scratch,” the social worker titters.
Jane shoves her spiral notebook firmly into her pack and pins the woman with her two-dollar stare. “I get that the whole homeless thing is uncomfortable for you, but there are some things you should never even try to platitude away,” she says quietly, and hoists her pack up. “There’s very little freedom in my choice to sleep in the hostel I was lucky enough to get for tonight, as opposed to on some sidewalk somewhere.”
Every week, Ivy at Uncharted hosts the Six Sentence Stories flash fiction linkup and blog hop. This week’s vignette, from The Life and Times of Jane Doe, is in response to the cue “scratch.” Fun Sixes from other writers are at the link. Come join us!
99 Monkeys 
Very apropo.
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Well told. Being homeless is heartachingly difficult.
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Thank you!
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A poignant tale and a very fitting image to go with it. Excellent
Click to see my six!
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Thank you!
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There’s a statement! So many assumptions and platitudes regarding the homeless, or anyone whose choices and ability to make choices have been diminished by circumstances. Your story works because the character did make a choice to speak up and edify the woman.
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Thanks, D!
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always a risk, attempting to relate to another person from a position farther into the personal reality than one can reach, which leaves only platitudes and common assumptions. not a good bet, interpersonalistically-speaking
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And I think most of the time it’s ignorance, not malice. But still.
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