by Michael Seese
So, it PAINS me to say that I missed the previous two Flash Friday contests. I had ideas. But life intruded, and I didn't have the time to see them through.
I vowed to NOT let that happen again. And I delivered.
This week's contest gave us this picture.
And tasked us with writing a story between 150 and 16o words. The basic idea came pretty quickly, and I fleshed it out while making dinner. Below is "The Tree Of Life."
The best-kept secrets are those we bury deep. Preferably, on a moonless night, under the watchful eye of the Priestess.
And just as she predicted, fortune delivered to us salvation.
We fed him.
We swaddled him in silk.
We sang for him.
Near nightfall, he asked the question we knew was forthcoming.
"By the way, where are the men?"
"The men?"
"Yes. I've not seen one yet."
The Priestess explained.
"Years ago, one of our elders angered a warlock. He cursed this village, fating every male child born here to die at the next new moon. He thought he'd won. I cast a spell upon his body. Then we buried him. From his soul sprang a tree. That tree over there. Its fruit, upon ripening, yields babies. Female babies. That's why you see no men."
"Fascinating. Though I'm afraid the tree appears to have died."
"Yes, it has. So the time for us has come to plant a new seedling."
The results will be shared tomorrow.
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