Here we are at week 50 of Julia’s 100 Word Challenge for Grownups. And this week’s prompt is
… the rain turned the road into a river…
Rain
During the night, the old man could hear rain hammering his roof.
Disaster, the TV said. Floods. The doorbell rang.
“Sir, do you need a ride to the shelter?”
“No. This is my house.”
“Yes, sir, but you need to evacuate now.” The old man slammed the door. Later, the rain turned the road into a river.
Good, he thought. Keep them away. In the morning, the living room was flooded. He splashed to the kitchen, gathered crackers, retreated upstairs.
Police with a bullhorn and a rowboat. “Mister, time to get out.”
“You’re not taking my house.”
“It’s dangerous!”
He retreated to the attic. Huh, watch them get him out of here.
Ever so slightly, the house shifted on its foundations.
A Number of Things 
What a stubborn old man! I like the ending.
Thank you! Yes, he’s determined to have things his own way.
This is such a good portrait of stubbornness, and oh so sad. I’m sure this sort of thing has happened too many times.
Yes – not always as dramatically, but there are many ways to court disaster by refusing help. Thank you.
What a character, I’ve known people like him,stubborn to the end! Well done Sharon yet again you’ve used the word limit brilliantly 🙂
Thank you, Gilly! There are a lot of people like him around, I think – maybe us, too, especially as we get older.
Nice work here, Sharon. Even though the old man is a bit of a stubborn old coot (I’ve known some in my day), I do feel some sympathy for him. Houses and what they represent mean so much to us, it’s difficult to let them go, often for fear of someone “taking them.” Good job portraying that without turning the main character into a villain!
Glad you like it! Yes, I think he’s struggling with a pretty common problem – he’s so afraid he’ll lose everything that he can’t see what really matters any more.
Ominous finale. Love it.
Thank you! Yes, things are about to get much worse.
Sounds like things we heard about with the hurricane in New Orleans a few years ago…holes in roofs so folks could retreat there until their houses smashed and floated apart and away. Too much desire to be with the things that matter, rather than doing the thing that makes the difference in the long run. nicely done!
Yes, Hurricane Katrina was one of the things in the back of my mind when I wrote this. Thank you!
I’d have stayed too! Love the idea of him muching crackers in the attic! Great piece and great ending!
I have a lot of sympathy for him, but it really was a bad decision. It’s not good for a house to float off its foundations.
That said, I’m glad you liked it! The crackers were one of those quirky details that wander in from who-knows-where as I wrote.
A loose-loose situation. And it’s a shame whenever it happens, which is all too often.
Great use of the prompt!
Yes – poor man, he caused his own disaster, but I understand his fear. Thank you!