Friday Fictioneers for March 28.
The challenge: Write a 100-word story inspired by the photo prompt.
Play along by writing your own, reading others and/or commenting on the flashes we fictioneers create.
My piece weighs in this week at 96 words.
Copyright John Nixon
Tree of Life
Abigail found solace in the limbs of the olive tree. It became an audience for her deepest ponderings. As her grieving father became more distant, Abigail and the tree became closer. She used to wonder if this were the same olive tree that gave hope to Noah after the Great Flood.
Abigail absently caresses the branches of her tree. A pang across her midsection yanks her from reverie. She catches her breath, leans against the tree for support. She wonders if it will be a father to her child as it was a mother to her.
Being MG 
Love the change of tense in the second paragraph. Nicely done 🙂
Thank you.
MG
Marie, what a unique POV. 🙂
janet
Thank you, Janet. There was originally a whole lot more to the story I had in my head, but I think the 100-word limit did me a favor this time around.
Cheers!
MG
MG – I would like to hear the rest of your story here. Is this King David’s Abigail?
Just an Abigail . . . any Abigail. 🙂 King David’s Abigail is an interesting historical character, though, about whom we aren’t given a whole lot of information in Scripture. Was she a wise and godly woman or a shrewd betrayer who lusted after the rogue, good-looking warrior, David? Perhaps there is another story there, although I think it’s more likely to be novel-length than to be a flash.
Thanks for your interest.
Marie Gail
Great story Marie Gail! I really like this point of view! Thanks for the read! Nan 🙂
Thanks so much, Nan.
All my best,
Marie Gail
Lovely story – I hope she’s safe giving birth in the woods.
I imagine her home is just a few yards up the hill. 🙂 That part got cut in an edit when I pared the story to fit the 100-word limit.
Thanks for reading.
MG
An incredible moment you’ve captured — somehow giving a rich history and an uncertain future all in 96 words. Well done.
Why, thank you, m’dear! I had a few other details in my mind that got trimmed away. I’m so glad it came through anyway.
MG
wonderful story, Marie Gail. i’m glad that she found hope and comfort from the tree, if not from others.
Thank you, KZ. I imagine that many lonely little girls make friends with the trees. Having grown up in Kansas, I was stuck making friends with blades of prairie grass which is considerably more difficult.
Cheers!
MG
Poor girl-she is in a real bad shape-wonder who the father of that child is?A great story Marie-very moving,to think that a girl has no friends and tries to find solace from a tree-sad!
Thanks for reading. Interesting thoughts. I hadn’t thought it was that sad . . . some of my best friends are trees . . . wait, no, that didn’t come out right. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it.
Cheers!
MG
ha!ha!You are a great gal-love your take Marie:-)
🙂
A nice poetic fable.
Thank you, Dawn.
Dear Marie Gail,
Story weighs in at 96. Baby weighs in at 7lbs. 8 oz.? You’ve captured her loneliness well. No doubt it was her loneliness and search for affection that got her into this predicament in the first place. A different POV. Nice read.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks, Rochelle. One of my favorite things about composing such short stories is hearing the many conclusions that readers come to upon reading. This story lends itself to those multiple conclusions in ways I hadn’t considered–partly because of portions that were cut along the way.
Is she an unwed mother? Is she a widow? Does she even know the father? Is the father in the picture at all?
What I love the most is that I “knew” the answers to all of these questions when I wrote this and now my wonderful readers have a variety of different answers to these same questions.
Yes, I am addicted.
Peace,
Marie Gail
Birth is a beautiful thing 🙂
Thank you. Yes, I agree. It is beautiful, regardless of any stressful circumstances surrounding it. The circle of life is in motion.
Marie Gail
Love the idea of tree as audience for her ponderings, and so much more. The understated emotion in this leaves one thinking and wondering long after the reading is over.
Thanks so much, Sarah Ann. “Thinking and wondering long after” is exactly what I want to hear my readers say.
All my best,
MG
The second paragraph yanked me to a different place than just observing a girl and a tree. Good job, Marie Gail.
Thanks so much, Vicky. I enjoyed writing this one. There were several details that got cut in the process of trimming it to the 100-word limit. I’m glad the final product works for you.
All my best,
Marie Gail