Finish the story begins with: “Few knew about the castle hidden inside the island.”, the shrivelled old man continued, “and those few are dead now. Only I remain…the lone witness to the grandeur that once existed.
You will see snakes slithering all over now and will never once imagine that here once children ran around …the air filled with their laughter. Few knew about it …and those few are dead now. Only I remain…the lone witness to the laughter that once existed.
You will see that the weeds and creepers and never once imagine that here stood a beautiful garden with bountiful fruits and fragrant flowers. Few knew about it …and those few are dead now. Only I remain…the lone witness to that sweet fragrance….. ”
As the old man counted all the coins and notes ,deposited in his tattered-hat by wide-eyed tourists , he wondered why no one questioned how a seventy year old may have witnessed what happened 150 years ago.
—–
“Dad, why did you give him money..his story was soooo fake”
“He looked hungry son”
——– end ————
The about 150 word story above was in response to ‘Monday’s finish the story’ flash fiction challenge. This unique flash fiction challenge provides a new photo each week, and the first sentence of a story. The challenge is to finish the story using 100-150 words, not including the sentence provided. Details are available here:
https://mondaysfinishthestory.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/mondays-finish-the-story-october-5th-2015/
For other interesting takes on the same prompt click the blue frog below:
But he had a story
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That he did….and that could be also added to the last line 🙂
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A sweet story and a good lesson for the son. The old guy earned his money anyway, whether his stories were true or not!
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Thanks Ali. Learning to look beyond the harmless lie at the poverty and hunger was a good lesson. And yes, he entertained them with his stories so he did earn his pay 🙂
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I really enjoyed this story. He was a teller of tall tales. 🙂
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That he was and it kept him fed. Thanks PJ!
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Oooh… Loved the double twist… Excellent work
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Thanks Karthik.
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I loved the ending to that story. That old man was quite a storyteller. His imagination earned him a living. Well done, Ansumani. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Thanks Suzanne.
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