The trees remember.
They think about when their sisters covered the valley, standing tall and proud.
Glossy, green foliage waving in summer breezes. Bare trunks frosted in winter snow. Branches reaching out, grasping hands, dancing in moonlight.
Now the few who remain nod to each other across empty fields studded with stumps of their sisters.
Their shadows stretch along barren land, soil cracked and dry.
Tufts of brown-tinged grass pretend they are a lush carpet of healthy green, turning from the truth.
The trees know better.
They are wise and no longer hold on to hope for the earth.
Flash Fiction Challenge over at Carrot Ranch
November 9, 2016 prompt: The End – In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about an ending.
Lemon Shark Reef 
Don’t lose hope. Life finds a way, even if the form is forced to vary.
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Like Jurassic Park. “Life…uh…finds a way.” 😄
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Totally the reference I was going for 😄
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Of course it is. I should have known better. We really need to meet up for a beer, lady. Seriously.
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Oh, that’s a killer ending! When wisdom is to hold no hope.
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Wisdom is holding no hope. Poignant. Hey, you prompted this! 😉
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Oh, that’s right! Hey, I found some petrified pieces of dryad hearts! I’ll see if I can listen hard to petrified trees on the mesa where monkeys once flew.
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That sounds oddly…not odd. You’ll have to fill us in on what you hear.
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This is wonderful, Sarah. Oh for those trees (and us)! And what a fab opening line — 3 words that say it all.
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Thank you! I know. It’s horrible to contemplate.
Trees always remember…
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That’s so sad, Sarah. I wish it weren’t true. It’s an ending I’d rather we weren’t seeing.
I love the poetry of your words – too many to list them all, but this image is especially beautiful: “Branches reaching out, grasping hands, dancing in moonlight.”
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I’d much rather we weren’t. It’s awful.
Thank you, Norah. Such kind words from you always. ❤️ I love thinking of them, branches entwined, dancing under a full moon. Beautiful.
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May they forever dance!
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Yes! 🌳💛
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Beautiful. Like Charli I love the ending. I love the concept of dryads too 😜💖
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Thanks. 💖 And who doesn’t love dryads? Stunning creatures.
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Beautiful imagery! There are so many great lines in this story. And you’ve bound them all together to tell a tale conveying a sad fate. Well done!
I always enjoy reading your flash fiction. 🙂
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Hey, thanks. ❤️ That’s lovely and so are you.
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Such a poignant truth. Such a sad ending. I hope we learn in time.
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So do I. I’m not sure…
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And yet, climate change has come and gone before…
The earth may still recuperate, maybe without humans… ,
But were the dinosaurs any better stewards?
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I don’t know for certain but I’d say, yes, dinosaurs were better, if I had to choose. 😉
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I guess it would depend if you were a T-Rex or one of the plant eaters 😉
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A good response to the prompt. T- rex ate all the herbavore’s wiped them out he did, so maybe they were trying to save the trees? At least until ‘Man’. I have a poem about a tree, i hope you come and if you do leave a comment for me. the sycamore
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Ha! Tyrannosaurus trying to save the trees. That’s awesome. I love trees. I’ll check it out. 🙂
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Sooo a disbeliever…*pouts* ” I am hurt now
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