The prompt today. Tell us about a time you made a false assumption about a person or a place — how did they prove you wrong?

I’ve been working with the power of assumptions a lot lately, because my story hangs on false assumptions. People, myself included, often see what they assume is there. Writers have had great fun with that. You’ll find  characters that see ghosts while everyone else doesn’t. I have observed that people really don’t see what they don’t want to see, eg. beggars, street people, graffiti etc. My story hinges on a cafe that most people cannot see, but in this case it’s because the cafe doesn’t want to be seen. Interestingly, it now appears that the cafe itself has wrongly assumed that it’s totally invisible.

Welcome to this Thursday’s excerpt from Mostly Frank

A scary new development, there’s been a wall. 

‘Someone’s been here!’ Frank’s worried. A graffiti creature has been painted on the cafe wall. Outside of course, there’s no space on the cluttered inside walls. I saw it when I came in, I’d assumed it was part of the cafe’s camouflage. He’s agitated. ‘What is it?’

‘It’s not a Banksy.’ I say. It’s freehand.   ‘Oh phew, I heard they’re really dangerous!’

‘Frank?’  I’ve almost learned to let a single question mark hang in the air above my head.

‘He’s thinking of the Brontes.’ says Liza.   ‘Frank, it’s just a painting’.

‘What’s a painting?’

* * * *

‘No, you don’t get it!’  says Frank,  ‘there wasn’t a wall there. There is no wall.’

That’s true, it’s amazing how much detail about a cafe that doesn’t want to be noticed that you don’t notice. It’s all shop windows in front, you can see that from the inside.  Somebody’s made their own bit of wall.  It’s not a lot of wall, maybe a metre and a half wide. But it’s not our wall. I know it’s not an existing wall, because I’ve already taken photos of the coffee lounge not being there. In fact, whenever I take a photo, the cafe isn’t there. That’s a bit annoying when you can see it front of you, but it doesn’t show up on the little screen at the back of the camera.

* * * *

We’re at the door, I’m off home. ‘Frank, I don’t get why the Brontes are dangerous.’      He shrugs.    ‘Neither do I!’

Keen observers will note that it’s a not a wall, it’s a door,well it is when you get the key.

More Frank

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