I made my way to the Mushroom Man, a coated UV tarp pulled over my head. Without it the noon-day sun would cook my skin. Within the city’s ruins, pockets of shade provided refuge. I scurried from shadow to shadow.
Down the subway stairs, rubble clacking away, the smell of loam filled my senses. Darkness gave me pause, my eyes adjusted slowly. The ancient forest smell consumed me.
“They’re not ready,” said the man who grows the mycelium leather.
I picked my way deeper into the gloom. “My kid needs those gloves.”
“Can’t rush the shrooms,” he cackled, madly.
~~~
[Another 99 word story prompt: kid gloves]
Anonymole - apocryphal agitators 
Are those shrooms radioactive?
Glad you are enjoying bite-sized fiction.
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I am enjoying 99 bottles of words on the wall…
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This is so good–your choice of verbs really reinforced the character’s desperation to get what he needs for his child!
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These 99 word efforts are great practice in condensing character needs and story movement.
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Rewrite the first paragraph with on my way to the mushroom man (or thereabouts) as the last line. Right now it’s like walking on marbles. Nice take on kid gloves. I saw that one and thought of a pulp with a welter weight boxer. Carry on.
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fixed.
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You gave it away. After we know where you’re going the rest is hodgepodge window dressing. No investment. That’s why we stumble through the rubble setting it up. If you have the original, send it to me. I have a plan. Otherwise I have to use Vasily’s fields as an example of chunking instead of the funnel.
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Original:
With a tarp held over my head, I made my way to the Mushroom Man. Noon and the sun would cook my skin without it. The city’s ruins, baked white, provided pockets of shade. I scrambled from shadow to shadow.
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Excellent! See you tomorrow
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I sense a dystopian landscape…not sure what the gloves are all about…but you can’t rush the shrooms, they’ll take you on a trip when they’re good and ready.
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UV protection was my intent.
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