Firstly, the writing group has been on a Summer hiatus. But alas, we have returned.
For this prompt, I wanted to do something a little more individualized. I picked 30 random prompts and assigned them numbers. Then, I had participants pick a number and voila… they had a prompt. There were prompts from everything having to do with ‘If you could live as any one of your previous Halloween costume characters, who would you be?’ to ‘What moment could you have not lived through with out your sibling?’ The number I picked was: Write a detailed guide for a spy trying to impersonate you for a secret mission. It was typed so no handwritten visual is included with this one. On a side note, if you’re interested in picking a number and generating a prompt for yourself to write about, reply to this post with a number between 1 and 30. I’ll send you a prompt.
So, without further ado, here is the result from my mission prompt.
First week report.
The subject is rather boring, and predictable. It’s actually almost alarming how average he appears to be. He wears similar attire consisting of a dark button up shirt, tucked in to this Dockers pants and a permanent frown on his face. He has the same daily routine, rising early in the weekday mornings to go to work, and taking long walks in the late afternoons on his way home. He’s always alone, and he always has a far off look in his eyes as he strolls with his hands held deep in his pockets. He looks like a typical melancholic, isolated, American.
This mission will likely be a cake walk. Even easier than the impersonation mission down in Morocco with the guy that thought he was a modern day Humphrey Bogart. That one required little more than rewatching Casablanca and having a conversation with one of his favorite local prostitutes, Henrietta.
Second week report.
The subject is more elusive than I originally gave credit. On Monday he diverted from his usual routine and took a different path during his afternoon walk. The next day, he didn’t attend work. I’ve wire tapped his phone and listened to a brief conversation he had with his boss, saying little more than he wasn’t feeling well and wouldn’t be in to the office for a couple of days. He stayed inside much later and eventually went for a walk through the city. Upon visual location of the subject, he appeared almost a completely different person. He wore casual clothes, jeans, and had ruffled hair. But what appears most strikingly different is a smile has replaced the frown. He looks up towards the sky, and lets his hands hang free, swinging at his sides.
Third week report.
I made initial contact with the subject. He had reverted back to his original state—black shirt, Dockers and a frown. Hands stuffed in his pocket. I posed as a construction worker, and as he approached I stopped him on the sidewalk while I arranged for a truck to pass by. I attempted to engage in conversation, but he remained quiet, with a sad little smile on his face. After a few moments he continued on his walk. I watched as he went. The exact same path. The exact same stroll.
I’m left with a strange feeling. I actually feel sorry for the subject.
