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The Collector

Kevin was a collector.

It had started when he was 7. His friends had amassed an impressive stack of baseball cards and whilst Kevin wasn’t sporty, the thought of collecting excited him.

Not wanting to become a sheep, Kevin chose his own road. It was unusual to collect discarded cigarette butts, sure, but to Kevin, each held a unique story.

Perhaps it was this sort of behaviour that led to Kevin living alone (or perhaps it was the ferocious addiction to pickled onions?) but he didn’t mind. These days he prefers spending time with his collection of bottled sunshine anyway.

This piece is submitted as part of the Friday Fictioneers group writing. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. If you did, make sure you go read the other entries this week! Or click this link to read more of my silly stories.

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46 responses to “The Collector”

  1. Snow’s Fissures and Fractures

    Another one of yours that I really love. Well told in this calm and quiet way.

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      Thank you, very kind.

      Reply
  2. patrickprinsloo

    Poor Kevin. He may be happy, but he’s rather sad.
    So sunshine is heavier than air – I never knew.

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      Thanks for reading!

      Reply
  3. ceayr

    I like this.

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      Thanks.

      Reply
  4. k rawson

    Love the bottled sunshine, but I certainly wonder (and fear) what we’d see if we turned away from the window.

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      Oh dear god, never turn away from the window.

      Reply
  5. Sandra

    I could feel the grin spreading across my face as I read on. Good one. 🙂

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      I’m pleased to have been a part of your face. Thanks for reading.

      Reply
  6. justgraham

    Laughed at “or perhaps it was the ferocious addiction to pickled onions?” Loved the tale.

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      Thanks very much for stopping by!

      Reply
  7. Brigitte

    I love the last line about bottled sunshine! This could be a sunny kind of story or could easily lend itself to becoming very dark. Nicely done.

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      That’s life though, don’t you think? 🙂 Thanks for reading.

      Reply
  8. Tracey@WhatsforDinnerDoc.com

    Cigarette butts, pickled onions and bottled sunshine. The imagery really works here – an olfactory and visual feast in 100 words.
    Tracey

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      Just another day at the office 😉 Thanks for reading.

      Reply
  9. Cheryl McCullough

    Really loved your story. Understated and beautifully written.

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      Thanks for the kind words.

      Reply
  10. Dave

    Dry and funny. Extra points for “whilst”.

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      Ah, I see you’re a whilst connoisseur. 🙂

      Reply
  11. helenmidgley

    Understated class 🙂

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      Is that one down from the Divvy Kids?

      Reply
  12. rochellewisoff

    Dear Peter.

    Bottled sunshine. I like that. 😀

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      Thanks Rochelle 🙂

      Reply
  13. storydivamg

    Who knew the road to hoarding was paved with cigarette butts? I guess it’s a good thing I gave up collecting unique soda cans by the time I reached high school. They’d be digging me out of my home with a backhoe by next summer, I imagine.

    Cheers!
    MG

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      😀 Thanks for reading, MG.

      Reply
  14. Dale

    Funny… we both collect bottled sunshine! I obviously enjoyed this one… 😉

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      \o/

      Reply
  15. Horus

    Like Rochelle – “bottled sunshine” brought the smile out of me 😀

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      Huzzah!

      Reply
  16. micklively

    The collector gene is certainly a strange one.
    Good piece.

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      Thanks very much.

      Reply
  17. Lorna’s Voice

    Oh, this story is delightful. I would love to spend time with a person who thinks to bottle sunshine!

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      Very kind.

      Reply
  18. Yolanda Renee

    I love my bottled sunshine to shine through all my blue glass. Yes, I collect blue glass bottles. Lovely read, and I’m sure pickled onions will help make you a loner, unless you find someone who loves them as much as you! 🙂

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      Thanks for reading, Yolanda.

      Reply
  19. Dawn Quyle Landau

    I really enjoy the pacing of your stories, Sir Binks. You bring the reader along, in a quiet, plucky way that leaves me smiling. Wonderful story this week.

    Reply
  20. aliciajamtaas

    Oh the combined smell of cigarette butts and pickled onions! Thank goodness he now collects sunshine. Beautifully done.

    Reply
  21. Taygibay

    All that bottled sunshine and yet the loneliness.
    Great punchline there, kudos, Tay.

    Reply
  22. gahlearner

    Bottled sunshine, what a great idea. I love how Kevin goes his own way and doesn’t follow what everyone else does. The subtle humour is wonderful.

    Reply
  23. mjlstories

    I saw sunshine too – but my narrator is a bit different . Better than collecting toe nails! Good story.

    Reply
  24. Courtney Wright

    Good take on the challenge. I wish there were days in the winter I could pull out a bottle of sunshine *sigh*

    Reply
  25. lingeringvisions by Dawn

    Bottled sunshine…what a wonderful way of looking at it.

    Reply
  26. Margaret

    Very clever. I like the idea of sunshine in bottles – much more than his other collections. Well told.

    Reply
  27. wildbilbo

    That last line is excellent- bottled sunshine is some beautiful imagery.

    Reply
    1. MrBinks

      Thanks!

      Reply

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