Every Wednesday Madison Woods posts a picture prompt to challenge writers to create a 100-word story or poem or anything that works for you. then post your work on your blog. additionally, on friday, you go back to her site and post a link to your blog entry in the comments on her Friday Fictioneers post.
I’m going to try to keep up with this, as should you. give it a shot. i prefer to stick to 100 words, but she doesn’t mind either way. not everyone has the time to sit and write, revise, edit, revise, edit, etc. until getting it down to 100 and telling everything you want to tell.
Here’s this week’s picture and my 100 words.
“What’s that, Dad?”
“A pixie, or a fairie. Not sure.”
“They’re really big!”
“Only the evil ones. The good ones could fit in your hand.”
“You ever see one?”
“No, but Mom says she did.”
“What’re those sticks on its back?”
“Not sticks. Wings.”
“They can fly?!”
“Could fly.”
“Whatta you mean could fly?”
“There are no more, Dear.”
“Why not?”
“I guess we stopped believing.”
A pensive, sad little face.
“But I didn’t stop.”
“That’s good, Dear. There’s other sculptures over there.”
As Wendy and her father stepped away, a subtle crack sprinkled plaster crumbs to the floor.
brainsnorts inc. 
That was so beautiful. It only takes one child to believe and to bring her back to life. So lovely.
thanks miss.
I liked the name Wendy too. Forgot to mention that in my first comment.
Second start to the right and straight on ’til morning.
all it takes is faith and trust. and a little pixie dust.
Ah pixie dust. 🙂
Just don’t snort it.
Kinda defeats the purpose doesn’t it? I mean I want to fly, but literally not figuratively. 🙂
I will take both.
Okay then, I will too.
Dear Rich,
Your story reminds me of Neil Young’s song Sugar Mountain. I didn’t stop believing and still see pixies now and again when I least expect to. Wendy (the perfect name) being pulled along into her father’s pixieless future is a sad sprite. Your last sentence is perfect.
Aloha,
Doug
thank you sir. your comment shows that i never listened carefully enough to “sugar mountain.” i guess i have ipod homework. thanks again.
Nice, Rich. And as Doug mentioned, Wendy was an excellent name to use.
thanks a bunch. i thought it was a good choice too.
I really liked this one. Didn’t have you down for this kind of tale at all. Beautifully done.
thanks very much. it’s fun to surprise people.
I like knowing that the good ones will fit in your hand–that way, if you believe, you can have one with you all the time.
That is a nice thought.
Am I the only one thinking she might have just unleashed a large EVIL fairy or pixie back into the world? Maybe the first of many?
shhh.
great dialog, reminded me of a conversation I might have had with my daughters when they were young.
thanks a bunch. i feel dialogue is my strength.
Such a sweet one. As soon as I read Wendy, my heart went “aaaaaw.” Peter Pan was always one of my favorites. Break out of that plaster, Tink!
thanks miss. she’s trying.
Hi Rich,
Nice father-daughter interplay. But no fairies in NJ? You must be confusing it with Iran. Seriously, though, if that’s possible, sweet little story. Ron
thanks very much.
Hi Rich: Sweet. Nice that you used the name Wendy. Love the ending. One of my favorites so far.
As soon as you mentioned “I guess we stopped believing” I thought of Peter Pan. A great exchange between father and daughter, not too sure about him calling her ‘dear’ , perhaps he is an older dad… but then I grew up with a father who called me allsorts of odd names, like pumpkin, curly, etc., so what do I know!
Well done Rich, great take on the prompt this week.
what do you know? a great deal. thanks, dear. 😉
🙂 🙂 🙂
my day is complete. i made a woman smile, three times.
Hi Rich,
Thanks for your comment. I often write in present tense because it gives a sense of immediacy to the writing. You’re the only one to notice or at least to say anything. That’s one thing I really like about FF, that you can experiment with different writing techniques in a small-sized format. Ron
i didn’t think of that aspect, but yeah, it’s a good testing ground. i avoid present tense because it doesn’t feel right, but that’s just a personal choice. present tense – for me – makes me wonder how someone could possibly be recording or telling their thoughts while it’s happening. i like to imagine that any story is being literally “told” from one person to another, but i can’t use that when in present tense.
Also meant to say that your use of italics for emphasis was very effective.
oh, thanks. wasn’t sure how visible they’d be. only other choice i guess would be single quotes, but they’re even harder to see.
You certainly did, surprise, Rich 🙂 In a good way, though 🙂
Sweet, and I loved the final sentence, too.
thanks miss, very much.
Rich, this is my favourite piece of the day so far! I love the dialogue you set up between Wendy and her father, and the characters we see just through their words. Her name, and in particular the last line are inspired – is that plaster dust or pixie dust I see on the floor?
I’m over here watching the cynics : http://elmowrites.wordpress.com/2012/09/21/friday-fiction-breaking-the-backs-of-angels/
i didn’t think of that as being pixie dust, but that makes sense. thanks!
Yes!
Scott
mine: http://kindredspirit23.wordpress.com/
Nice take on belief. If only my Lego had come to life when I was a kid
oh, the things i’d have built…
Well, you caught me off guard today, Rich. It was a nice surprise. Great dialogue too.
Thank you, sir. I think that dialogue is my strength.
Wonderful story. A grand reminder of how important it is to believe.
Yes yes. Thanks.
Awesome! Belief brought it back to life. But, this one, big as it is, must be one of the evil ones. Hints of a great thriller brewing!
http://ebooksscifi.wordpress.com/2012/09/21/unnatural-selection-copyright-2012-ilyan-kei-lavanway/
yup. thanks for noticing that.
I LOVE this.
🙂
Great storytelling, but I’m with jmmcdowell. ‘Hang on a minute, this is one of the big ones! Maybe we’d better not believe!’ Thanks for stopping by mine too.
😉
Through the innocence of children anything is possible!
Great story Rich!
thanks miss. happy weekend.
It makes me think of Peter Pan, especially with the mention of Wendy. Very nice take.
thanks miss .
The ability of a child to believe the unbelievable and make it real!
they’re good at that.
Best Fictioneers story this week – by a mile!!!!! My humble opinion anyway…
I humbly accept. Thanks
That was absolutely beautiful. It made me happy and sad, for it is true. We stop believing in things, and we should never stop believing. A beautiful story indeed! Bravo.
Thank you kindly.
Well done! Seems like a version of modern Greek mythology.
mythology – love that stuff. thanks. i used to teach a mythology class to 10th graders. was a lot of fun, especially when it was time for them to create their own characters and stories to explain natural phenomena.
This made me feel whimsical in spite of myself. Whimsy is rare for me.
I wandered over from Shakira’s blog and so glad I did! This was beautiful. Sometimes, it takes just one person to believe to make something real! Very fascinating (peeking above) that you taught mythology and to a great age of high schoolers.