3 October 2025 @marinnewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2879: Obstacle To Living.

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This is my post on #freewriters2879 #dailyprompt obstacle to living hosted by @marinnewest's. In the quiet town of Eldridge, where fog clung to the hills like forgotten dreams, lived Elias, a man whose heart beat in rhythm with the ticking clock on his mantel. At 42, he had built a life of routines: wake at dawn, toil at the mill, return to his empty cottage. But lately, an invisible weight pressed upon him—an obstacle to truly living. It began with whispers. "Why risk it?" they'd say when he eyed the dusty guitar in the corner, untouched since youth. "You're too old for dreams." The obstacle was fear, woven from years of loss: his wife's departure, his father's stern warnings against folly. It manifested as shadows in his mirror, mocking his greying hair and calloused hands. One autumn evening, as leaves swirled like regrets, Elias stumbled upon an old journal in the attic. Pages filled with his boyhood sketches of far-off lands, songs half-written. A spark ignited. But the obstacle reared: "What if you fail?" it hissed. Defiant, Elias picked up the guitar. Fingers fumbled at first, strings protesting like old bones. He played into the night, voice cracking but alive. Neighbors heard, some scoffed, others smiled. Soon, he joined a local band, performing at the tavern. Laughter returned, friendships bloomed. Yet the obstacle lingered, testing him. During a storm, doubt flooded back: "Give up." Elias strummed louder, the music a shield. He realized living wasn't absence of barriers, but leaping over them. By winter, Elias traveled beyond Eldridge, guitar in hand. The obstacle? A teacher, not a jailer. In embracing it, he found freedom.