One of the amazing things about Friday Fiction is how many widely varied stories one prompt can produce. In the region of 100 writers respond to the prompt and while there is often some overlap in themes and subjects, there is always a huge spectrum among the pieces. I’m sure this week will be no exception.
What’s different this week is that the picture generated three very different ideas in my head, all of them crying out to be written. I posted my first story yesterday and commented there that I had other ideas. I’ve now had a chance to pen them into stories and I can’t even tell you for sure which is my favourite, but in case you are interested, here are the other two, all based on the same picture prompt.
Justification 2
“She was beautiful. Gnarled, craggy and deformed, but absolutely beautiful.”
“So why do it?”
“It was her time.”
“Euthanasia? You’re telling me this was an act of kindness?”
“Absolutely. You’re too young to understand, but us old folks, there are some places we can’t stand to be.”
“You cut down a centuries-old tree because you didn’t want to hurt its feelings?”
“If I left her there, how’d she have coped? Concrete tower blocks all around; kids hanging swings from her lower branches; dogs crapping on her roots and pissing all over her bark… I couldn’t bear to see that happen.”
Loyalty
She’s always been there, shared everything: my first kiss with Lily Spacek, when she told me afterwards my sister paid her to do it; the time my brothers dared me to swing out over the creek and I came home with one missing tooth and a mouthful of blood; when Amy agreed to marry me and the tears I cried when our daughter was born.
That tree comforted me after Amy’s funeral and now they say it has to be cut down? Well, they can use it to make my coffin. Bury me with the best friend I ever had.
elmowrites 
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Tell you the truth, I liked both of them better than the other (and it was good).
Scott
Mine: http://kindredspirit23.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/friday-fictioneers-april-5-2013-genre-fantasyhumor-pg/
Thank you for your honesty, Scott. I think I agree – certainly the other isn’t very original.
I love both of these!
Thanks pillowbook!
Nicely done, you’ve had a prolific turn this week.
Thank you for taking the time to indulge it!
Dear Jen,
I completely missed these when you commented on my story. However…You totally have my blessing on these two wonderfully crafted stories. Like Scott, I have to say I like these better than the first. No. 2 is my favorite of the three. Well done times three.
shalom,
Rochelle
Phew! I’ll try to be better behaved next week and only send you the best. Thanks for your kind words and your patience this time around.
My favourite is the last one I think – no, the second one, no wait, the last one. Oh I don’t know. They’re all great!
lol, that’s kind of how I felt too, el. Thank you.
I like them both, Jen-Again. Your muse was really feeling her oats this week. Thank God for trees.
Amen to that.
Chiming in with agreement on these two being the better and that they were good!
janet
Thank you, Janet. I’m glad I took to the time to coem back to this prompt
Three stories, you were certainly inspired. I think I love the second of those the most
Thank ou for taking the time to read them, Bjorn
I agree with the others–I like them both. Nice write(s).
🙂 Cheers, vb
I liked all three, but the last one the best. Good job!
I like the last one too – it feels more like a story than the others.
You have a gift for dialogue. In all of your stories, your characters shine through their speech.
Cheers for saying so; I’ve always found dialogue hard to balance, so it’s nice to hear when it’s going right.
I struggled this week and you sent out runners! Wow – enjoyed them all. The last one encompasses more time and perhaps that makes it feel more like a complete story.
Yeah, I like the last one too. Nothing happens, but it implies a lot of stuff happening outside the words, more than the others do.
Hey! A DOUBLE treat! Poetic. Good narrative in the second and good poetry in the first. I like the approaches. You delivered, Jenn! Great!
Cheers, wmq; Triple even!
I have not read the first one but I like the third the best of the two and probably should read the first which would be the third for me so in that case judging by what other say it may be the second I like best in the end. Nicely done as always.
Tom
heehee, I like your logic and I *think* I follow it!
powerful and rich with meaning. This was a read over post for me.
🙂 Thank you!
I’ve really enjoyed all of your tree stories and their different ideas.
“You cut down a centuries-old tree because you didn’t want to hurt its feelings?” Hmm, I think I probably agree with that sentiment. Does the tree really care if it’s watered by dogs? That’s what we need now – a story from the voice of the tree. (Only kidding. You’ve got better things to do.)
That last paragraph of ‘Loyalty’ is touching and heart rending.
Haha, I think I’ll have to leave the tree’s POV to someone else, Sarah! Glad you liked Loyalty though