PHOTO PROMPT © Sandra Crook
Jake sat his old bones down beside the Mumblebon bush again. He’d discovered it some weeks ago when taking his morning hike behind his house. The day he saw the strange blossoms; he bent over to get a closer look and…
“Poof.”
A blossom popped into his face and he could hear it talking. Since then they’d become fast friends.
“The world’s gotten so bad out there,” said Jake.
“The world is so peaceful in here,” said Mumble.
“I’m too old for this,” said Jake. “I want that kind of peace.”
“Come closer,” said the blossoms.
Jake leaned down.
“Poof.”
It’s Wednesday and time once again to participate in Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ 21 November 2025 edition of Friday Fictioneers. The idea is to use the image above as the prompt for crafting a poem or short story no more than 100 words long. My word count is exactly 100.
Cover art for the anthology “Fantastic Schools Familiars”
Sandra took a nice photo but it didn’t evoke any particular drama when I looked at it. I mean, where was the hook? Well, I guess it was my habit of reading a bunch of social media before getting to writing that did it. Nothing (almost) but doom and gloom on X and Bluesky. Pretty much the same for Threads. Those platforms aren’t really representative of the actual world, but they think they are.
So, old Jake just wants some peace and his strange blossom bush is going to provide it one way or the other (I left his fate somewhat vague).
To read other stories based on the prompt, visit inlinkz.
Fantastic Schools Familiars is available at Amazon in Kindle and paperback formats. It contains my short story “Dead Cat Fever.” If you like fantasy stories about all manner of animal and other familiars serving (or not serving) masters and amateurs of the occult, this one’s for you.
In addition to my latest science fiction novel being accepted for publication, another short novelette was just picked up (I haven’t signed the contract yet, so I can’t give out details) which is exciting.
Plus, a fantasy manuscript I’ve been working on forever (it seems) just went through an alpha reader and I’m editing diligently to make it submission ready.
2026 should be a lot of fun.
poweredbyrobots.com 
Vegetal bliss!
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Could be.
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Hemp flowers come to mind. Not decorative but effective.
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That’s one way of thinking about it.
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That last poof made me sneeze!
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Gesundheit.
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Living with magical plants seems like an escape from the modern world and a gateway to adventure.
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Depends on how far down the rabbit hole the plants take him.
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I do like how you left us wondering a bit about what happens after Jake leaned down….
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So far, most people think he just got high.
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🙂🙂
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James, I like the creativity in your story. Magical in many ways.
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Kind of like “magic mushrooms.” Thanks.
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You’re welcome.
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Great take on the photo. Well done.
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Thanks, Sandra.
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Now that’s a nice way to go 😊
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It could be. Thanks.
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I love this, James.
Maybe it’s a nice way to spend his last days, along with Mumble…
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Indeed. Thanks, Dale.
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Ooooooo
Good or bad I can’t tell. Very clever piece james
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Thanks, Laurie. It could be good or bad.
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poof! i got it. 🙂
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So did he. Thanks.
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Lovely
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Thank you.
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He was ready to go. Nicely done, James.
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Thanks, Nancy.
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