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.
me.you.coffee 
Another one of yours that I really love. Well told in this calm and quiet way.
Thank you, very kind.
Poor Kevin. He may be happy, but he’s rather sad.
So sunshine is heavier than air – I never knew.
Thanks for reading!
I like this.
Thanks.
Love the bottled sunshine, but I certainly wonder (and fear) what we’d see if we turned away from the window.
Oh dear god, never turn away from the window.
I could feel the grin spreading across my face as I read on. Good one. 🙂
I’m pleased to have been a part of your face. Thanks for reading.
Laughed at “or perhaps it was the ferocious addiction to pickled onions?” Loved the tale.
Thanks very much for stopping by!
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.
That’s life though, don’t you think? 🙂 Thanks for reading.
Cigarette butts, pickled onions and bottled sunshine. The imagery really works here – an olfactory and visual feast in 100 words.
Tracey
Just another day at the office 😉 Thanks for reading.
Really loved your story. Understated and beautifully written.
Thanks for the kind words.
Dry and funny. Extra points for “whilst”.
Ah, I see you’re a whilst connoisseur. 🙂
Understated class 🙂
Is that one down from the Divvy Kids?
Dear Peter.
Bottled sunshine. I like that. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks Rochelle 🙂
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
😀 Thanks for reading, MG.
Funny… we both collect bottled sunshine! I obviously enjoyed this one… 😉
\o/
Like Rochelle – “bottled sunshine” brought the smile out of me 😀
Huzzah!
The collector gene is certainly a strange one.
Good piece.
Thanks very much.
Oh, this story is delightful. I would love to spend time with a person who thinks to bottle sunshine!
Very kind.
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! 🙂
Thanks for reading, Yolanda.
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.
Oh the combined smell of cigarette butts and pickled onions! Thank goodness he now collects sunshine. Beautifully done.
All that bottled sunshine and yet the loneliness.
Great punchline there, kudos, Tay.
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.
I saw sunshine too – but my narrator is a bit different . Better than collecting toe nails! Good story.
Good take on the challenge. I wish there were days in the winter I could pull out a bottle of sunshine *sigh*
Bottled sunshine…what a wonderful way of looking at it.
Very clever. I like the idea of sunshine in bottles – much more than his other collections. Well told.
That last line is excellent- bottled sunshine is some beautiful imagery.
Thanks!