Hayley sat dithered.
She remembered this from last time.
The darkness.
The cold.
The smell.
Herbert rolled around on the floor laughing. He remembered it too, only differently.
“You tore your dress” Herbert managed between guffaws.
“I broke a nail” Hayley sternly retorted, “as well” she acknowledged.
Herbert looked into Hayley’s eyes.
Hayley blinked. It’s been a while, she thought.
Herbert laughed again: Hayley, painting.
Decorating was not her strong point.
She’d rather pay extortionate fees than do it herself, unless she had to.
This time, once again, she had to. The ‘professionals’ were busy.
The last time she did it, she thought her world had come to an end… and now, here she was doing it again.
Decorating. Herself.
Only worse.
She wanted ‘greenish’, and the paint was ‘blueish’.
“Sigh”, she sighed, “This is worse than last time…”

This has been written in response to CMStewart’s prompt ‘End of Everything Apocalypse’. It is also a repeat presentation, originally posted in 2012.

11 thoughts

    1. I debated whether to leave the link in, CM, but as it still worked, I thought why not! 😊 A time-travelling blast from the past can be good on occasions… glad it didn’t leave you feeling too blue! 😁

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  2. Ha ha, Tom. It reminds me of the time I painted the walls of my first front room a rather dramatic shade of navy blue, contrasting with bright yellow skirting boards (possibly in a post-punk phase of the mid-80s). My neighbour popped in the next morning and said the effect made him feel queasy.🤢 I was forced to concur. Back to B&Q for some calming sage green for the walls and cream-coloured paint for the woodwork. Much better.

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    1. I have bright yellow walls now (white woodwork though)… the cobwebs provide the contrast! I remember the colours being brighter in the mid-80s, Chris, ‘though that may have been after the orange and brown seventies (not that I remember them actually, ahem, being only 24 and all)
      It’s good how colours trigger memories, don’t you think? 🙂

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      1. I’m sitting in a yellow and white room now too. I think it was the picture you painted that triggered the memory, but now I’m imagining the smell of paint, which was definitely stronger in the 80s. How is it we even remember that decade when we’re barely older than Millennials? 🤔😉😁

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        1. I have no idea, Chris. I also have a strange memory of scratch and sniff cards, for when TV ‘experimented’ with smellyvision. I seem to think they had a strong whiff of paint too… although this could all have been a very vivid dream. 🤔

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  4. I shall soon be in this apocalyptic position myself Tom! Theoretically painting the window ledge before the landlord returns should be a piece of cosmic cake….White…easy peas….except that white paint is about as predictable in shade as the inside of your Mansion cupboards!

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