Consumed by slime and locked in haze, the forest wore a visage of enchantment. A once-loved spot in dank despair.
The odd array of outbuildings stared, open-mouthed and blank-eyed like a creature forever stunned. Not a peep from the birds, not an animal brave enough to show its whiskers. Even those of lightest claw or paw feared how the waterlogged leaves squidged underfoot and threatened to drag them under.
Then there was the wishing well, its waters a phosphorescent green, unmoving but for the coins tinkling in its depths; or was it the shifting of tiny bones? A child lost.
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Friday Fictioneers: 100 words stories
Photo Prompt: image © – Rachel Bjerke
Dear Saarah,
You packed so much into this story. It sounds an accursed spot and one most would avoid if they could. Thank you for taking me there.
Aloha,
Doug
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Dear Doug,
I enjoyed spooking myself with this story, so am glad it spooked you, too. Thanks.
All best wishes
Sarah
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Dear Sarah,
You’ve taken me to a place of enchantment with vivid and lilting descriptions. I’m haunted by the lonely feel of this and the loss of a child. Beautifully written.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
Immediately I saw Rachel’s amazing picture, it struck me to the core — the way it oozed loneliness.
Thank you, so much, for your kind words about my writing.
All best wishes
Sarah
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Wow! Your short story had me shuddering. Wonderful description of this sad and tragic place.
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Thank you, Sylvia. Glad to have made you shudder 😉
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😆
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Fabulous. I love how one picture can “draw” so many images in words! Love this.
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Thank you, so much, Dale 🙂 If you have time to read some of the other Friday Fictioneers’ stories, you will be amazed at the wide variety of responses to this one picture.
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I’ve been doing that all morning! Getting nothing done that is supposed to be! I am blown away and I’ve only read about 25 of them – so far!
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Beautifully done, each word carefully chosen. Well done.
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Thank you, so much, Sandra 🙂
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Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.
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Thank you for the reblog. Much appreciated 🙂
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Oooh, spooky, but in a good way. Your word choices are excellent… Beautiful writing!
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Thank you so much, Sonya, for your kind words about my writing 🙂 My son said “Oooh, spooky” when he read it, too!
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Crazy beautiful stuff from first to last of those well-chosen words.
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Thank you, so much. I like your description “crazy beautiful stuff” 🙂
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You painted and wove a desolate place where no human or animal wants to go, then to find the resting place of a child’s bones. Eerie and sad. Excellent writing!
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Thank you, so much, for your kind words about my writing 🙂
To me, the place in the picture looks saturated with sadness — the kind that goes with the death of a child.
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Now that you mention that, you’re right, it does.
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Oh I the image of the bones in the well.. I think we saw a similar story here.. There is a haunting beauty in the image.
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The chances of 2 people out of 106 writing similar stories from the same picture prompt is moderately high. Anyway, I promise you it’s coincidence, as I’ve not read the other person’s story. We obviously just saw the same haunting quality in the image.
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The loss of the child… wow, that piece held such power in a small amount of words, Sarah!
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Thank you, so much, Christy 🙂 I think that flash fiction is a wonderful discipline for focusing a writer’s mind on making every word count. The trouble is, that I attempted to apply this same discipline to the whole of my last novel, so it took far too long to write!
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chilling!! Well done Sarah!!
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Thank you, Cybele 🙂 I know how much you’re into eerie woods and forests!
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Your prose grounds us to this mysterious place. Well done.
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Thank you, Tracey 🙂
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OOOhh, this gave me the shivers. Loved the imagery and the ending was unexpected!
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Excellent, I love it when my writing gives people the shivers 🙂
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