The Friday Fictioneer Challenge: Write a 100-word story based on the photo.

Photo copyright J Hardy Carroll

What’s So Funny?

Andy saw a man stumbling towards the shelter. It happens every season: a bear comes into a camp, challenging the human for his food. The camper abandons everything, runs through the forest, splashes across the creek, and, if lucky enough, finds the trail shelter.

“Not to worry,” Andy assures him, “here’s a quarter.”

Andy watched as the man stared at the wall phone, failing to recall even one complete phone number, realizing that his smart phone with quite an extensive contact list was last seen crushed under a bear’s butt.

It wasn’t funny, Andy knew, but he laughed anyway.

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The photograph is week is from J Hardy Carroll who is also a Friday Fictioneer writer. Check out J Hardy Carroll’s story “When” here.

To read other Friday Fictioneer stories based on this photo, select the smiley blue frog.

The Friday Fictioneer Challenge: Write a 100-word story based on the photo.

Photo copyright Janet Webb

The Lullaby

Lucy slept soundly in the soft bed, under the warm quilt in the cabin inherited from her grandmother. When she awoke, she discovered the light in the bedroom was not moonlight, but from the jar and the candle on the table: they glowed.

As she picked up the candlestick, stones lining the path outside the window lit up. She ventured outside, unlit candle in hand. The closer she got to the path, the brighter the candlelight became.

She thought she heard someone singing a lullaby. Lucy looked back at the cabin only once, then followed the sound of the song.

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The photo from this week is by Janet Webb. You can check out Janet’s blog here.

To read other Friday Fictioneer stories based on this photo, select the smiley blue frog.

The Friday Fictioneer Challenge: Write a 100-word story based on the photo.

Photo copyright Claire Sheldon

Retirement Plan

As a temporary employee, Bill met all kinds of people all over. Some stood in his cubicle doorway seemingly like forever, complaining about how busy they were. Others spent a great deal of energy planning their retirement 20-plus years down the road. Over the short cubicle walls, he regularly overheard arguments between the Comma Cliques: those who advocated for the Oxford comma, those against it at all costs.

Bill looked at his staple collection, aghast at how quickly time passed with so little accomplished and decided on his own new retirement plan: buy a lottery ticket on the way home.

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To read other Friday Fictioneer stories based on this photo, select the smiley blue frog.

The Friday Fictioneer Challenge: Write a 100-word story based on the photo.

Photo copyright Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

The Maze Runner

Mario didn’t see the people who passed him. His eyes were full of memories: him chasing his brother Luigi down stone streets, their laughter echoing skyward. They loved surprising each other, popping up from behind, vanishing down an alley seemingly without exit. The maze they called a village held no secrets for them. A day of skinned knees and ragged shoes was a day well-spent.

Luigi was gone now, fighting in the war. Mario discovered life was itself an unmapped maze. With one deep breath he stepped out of the shadows, deciding there was only one direction to go: forward.

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This week the photo is from our host, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Check out her story here.

To read other Friday Fictioneer stories based on this photo, select the smiley blue frog.