Annnd – it’s time again for Friday Fictioneers! Madison Woods’ photo prompt this time got me all tangled up in ideas for a while, but I ended up by spinning this yarn…
Persistence
With a cheap house, you expect problems. This place? The last owners never cleaned the place, just let it get filthier and filthier.
Oh well, they couldn’t clean. You can’t sweep the floor if you pile junk head-high all over it. I lost count of the number of days clearing the living room took, and the number of dumpsters we filled.
It felt great to stand in the middle of that open space, dust and cobwebs and mildew scrubbed away, open paint cans at our feet. I dipped my brush in the paint and grinned at the wall. My grin faded. Somebody else planned to make a home here.
It clung to the corner we cleaned just an hour ago. A brand-new cobweb.
* * *
And let me throw in a true story about unlikely cobwebs – until a couple of years ago, part of my job involved repairing computers that weren’t working right. I was pretty startled the first time I opened up a case to find one corner of the system full of cobweb. Eventually I realized that PC cobwebs are routine, but I still can’t imagine what spiders find to eat in there!
And oh yes – please let me know what you think!
A Number of Things 
Wow, who knew spider webs could be inside computers! You’d think they’d be fried spiders (and webs.)
As far as your story, I can feel the joy of the open, clean space…and the mini-intrusion of the new web. But spiders can certainly put up new webs in an amazingly short time! I’m guessing this is a hoarding story–a scary thing in itself!
Yes, the previous owners were definitely serious hoarders! But I think the new people and their spider will have to find ways to compromise. I think part of this story came from noticing during a brief car ride that a spider was busily spinning a web between my shoulder and the door – it’s amazing how fast they work.
As for fried spiders – it gets pretty hot inside a computer case, and humans would be uncomfortable (if we could fit), but if the insulation deteriorated enough to electrocute a spider or burn up its web there would be MAJOR problems with the electronics!
I enjoyed your intro as much as the story. 🙂 “spinning this yarn.” LOL Brilliant and fun.
Thanks!! I felt a little ashamed of myself for that intro, but puns can be addictive, can’t they?
I enjoyed the “spinning the yarn”, too. As far as the speed at which spiders work, I’ve had first-hand experience of that while riding in Wyoming and I’ve caught a lot of webs across my face or, if seen in time, on my cowboy hat instead. 🙂
Ook! I’ve walked through plenty of webs – spiders like to spin them across our front steps – but it somehow seems worse to be carried through one on horseback!
great slice of reality…
Thanks!
Your opening made me laugh. Nice job 🙂
As for the frustration of a determined spider wanting to make his home, I’d be armed with a broom at all times 😉
Glad you liked the opening!
The only trouble with the broom approach is that in this situation, the broom might turn into an oversized, out of control paintbrush. 😉
A brilliant yarn! do you think I’m likely to have spiders in my pc? maybe time to get a laptop!
Thanks, Gilly! As for spiders in your pc – if you’ve had it for several years, could be – but they seem content to stay inside the case. (Nobody had any idea these work computers were spidery until I opened them up.) So, probably, if you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone 😉
Hey Sharon, I think I lived next door to the previous owners. 😉 Great beginning of a story. I had the feeling there was more to come. It’s amazing where spiders will make a home. isn’t it? Just hope I never find one in my computer.
I don’t think I’ve known the previous owners myself, but several friends of mine have lived next door to houses like that! This could be a scene out of the middle of another one of my partly written longer tales – we’ll see if I get back to elaborating on that plot.
As for spiders – things that tiny don’t seem to have much sense of barriers!
LOL, I battle those cobs all the time!
We’re right in the middle of spider season now, and they just won’t give up 😉
You know, I think sometimes they crawl in my ears and spin webs in my brain. I suppose that explains my writing style, doesn’t it?
😉
Well, maybe the webs help you build patterns that make unexpected connections between differing ideas!
When did you come over to my house 🙂 as for the computer there is probably a spider in there too 🙂
🙂 Some days at this time of year I think I should open a spider zoo in my house! There was one in the sink this morning…who knows why??
i have a mouse this morning walking across my landing like it owns the place 😦
Probably thinks it does 😦 Stupid mice… We made the big mistake of leaving a bag of grass seed (mouse buffet) in the garage one year – you can guess how that turned out.
so far these mice have eaten through my pasta and rice store and then my flour store and now they are on the hunt 🙂
They eat bits and bytes here and there in the servers. (oh, God, i’m sorry. couldn’t help myslef.) Loved your story.
Aloha,
Doug