Treespirit [Flash Fiction]

  Posted on January 31, 2018 By

 53 Comments

The trembling aspen watched from a distance as the sharp teeth of a chainsaw cut cruelly into the weathered bark of the old sycamore. Trunk was reduced to stump; branches, to twigs. Sawdust bled onto bare ground before being borne away by the cold caress of winter zephyrs. Nearby, grey smoke puffed out from the chimney of the cabin, curling towards the heavens, and the aspen knew the time would soon come for its own spirit to dance on the east wind.

82 words

This story by James, of Powered by Robots, inspired me to take part in this week’s Friday Fictioneers challenge, hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Field.

I went in the opposite direction to James, and saw something grim in the fallen tree. You can read other stories for the prompt by clicking the frog. The picture is copyrighted to Rochelle Wisoff-Field.

 

 Category: Literary Sojourns      Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

53 Comments on “Treespirit [Flash Fiction]”

  7. Welcome to Friday Fictioneers, Spaceman. I really loved your take on the prompt and will pop round to read James’s contribution in a minute.
    I particularly loved this line, which was so beautifully written and provided a sort of hope for the tree: “the aspen knew the time would soon come for its own spirit to dance on the east wind”.
    Well done!
    Best wishes,
    Rowena

    Like

    Reply

      • I love listening to the dry Autumn leaves chatter in the wind before they fall. Perhaps, they are talking but it is us who do not understand. Given humans’ track record on so many fronts, I’d say it’s more than likely.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  20. A time comes when all must bow to the inevitable, but maintaining a balance is crucial, the aspen may except its fate if it’s young are allowed to grow. I was pleased you gave the aspen a voice, and so made us picture the scene and think.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

      • That’s how it works! We try to read and comment on each other’s stories. Makes it more of a family. We each reciprocate as much as we can. And we all improve as a result!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  24. What a sad situation, knowing what’s coming and with no option but to accept fate. That’s a relatable tale for a few things other than trees too. Nicely done.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Respond to this Report

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Enter your email address to stalk this Spaceman and receive notifications of new reports by email.

Join 422 other subscribers
Follow Observations of The Urban Spaceman on WordPress.com
Contact

Email: talkto [at] theurbanspaceman [dot] net

Twitter: @MrUrbanSpaceman

Types of stuff I post
Stuff from the past
Do this Tweet thing
Other Peeps
Copyright
© OoTUS — All Right Reserved. Reblogging, Tweeting and other Sharing is allowed, so long as attribution to the original author is maintained. Content from this blog may not be reproduced except where express permission has been obtained in writing from the author.

Observations of The Urban Spaceman

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com