Marnie brought the first one home. She picked it in the field across the creek. It was so pretty, she couldn’t resist.
Just one. An enormous scarlet blossom, its petals like velvet cushions. It looked gorgeous in my vestibule, but it began to drop large seedpods on my carpet. Not thinking, I swept them outside.
Now they were everywhere. Voracious and relentless, they burst from their pods and began to devour everything. We couldn’t stop them. They thrust through solid rock to gorge themselves and reproduce. Their spores spread on the wind. When they’ve finished here, they’ll find another planet.
The photo prompt from Madison
OMG, Linda! You and I saw the same thing is this photo. But then, for me, what else could it be but a pod from an alien planet! Still, I found it interesting to see the difference in stories we wrote, though we "saw" the same thing. You used great words: voracious, relentless, gorge - excellent words that lend to the image of taking over the planet. Great!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jan. I am going over to check up on you. I usually really like your stories, and your writing.
DeleteMy Comment Form isn't working for Carlos!
ReplyDeleteThe pod creatures! So cool! I love the science fiction aspect of this!
ReplyDeleteI keep tryin' t' comment, but it ain't workin'! to paraphrase Curly, or Moe or Larry.
ReplyDeleteYour story is beautifully written, Ms Glamoura. It's a scary thought, and one that comes to my mind often with the explorations to other planets and moons. Who knows what will get tracked in on the carpet? And Beauty is dangerous, a concept ingrained not just into us, but in nature. Remember that Ernie K-Doe song....
Hey it worked when I went to another browser, left Chrome, went to Sea Monkey.
ReplyDeleteNifty story! And creepy, too. You know how to tap into that creepy world quite well, actually. :-) This made me think of kudzu, which, given enough time, will probably overtake the rest of the North America, then find its way to the U.K. and after that . . . Well, you just wrote about it!!
ReplyDeleteHere's my mild little tale: http://sweettea.kdmccrite.com/flash-fiction-3/his-way
I agree with the other commenters - a spooky story indeed. Funny how many of us saw menace in this little picture.
ReplyDeleteAn apocalyptic story with such a sweet beginning. Is this what happens when the Mayan calendar runs out later this year? Good reminder that evil can lurk behind the prettiest face. Good story.
ReplyDeleteHere's mine: http://bridgesareforburning.wordpress.com/
I do like to have an innocent beginning - and then the cosmic disaster strikes!
DeleteCool! I love it! PS - From an environmentalist's perspective, this also illustrated the dangers of moving a species from its natural environment into one in which it doesn't belong...great illustration of the damage done by an invasive species (hey, that would be a great title!) Here's mine: http://www.susanwenzel.com/
ReplyDeleteYes - The environment. Still my feelings for what is natural are still mixed. It all seems like an awesome (terrifying) joke to me. And the real ending isn't so funny. I tell Carlos it is all a "Cosmic Joke", and I mean it.
DeleteI love the imagery. It reminds me of the time my wife allowed a spider in a corner above our bed. Before long, we had millions of tiny spiders everywhere.
ReplyDeleteExactly, life is a scourge. And we know it!
ReplyDeleteWow, it makes me want to curtail my daughter's penchant for picking up random seeds and bringing them home. Well done. :)
ReplyDeletePlausible idea that you knitted very nicely into a fast moving little story.
ReplyDeleteHere's mine: http://wp.me/s1Tjpv-cassie
This would work better than many of today's sci-fi/horror films. Nice.
ReplyDeleteHere's my entry: http://wp.me/p24aJS-1h
Dear Lindaura,
ReplyDeletePopped out of the pod, indeed. Lovely story, well rendered.
Aloha,
Doug
(A link to mine:)http://ironwoodwind.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/a-womans-vows/
Not pod people, but parasitic pod plants! I love it!
ReplyDeleteThis is the link to mine: http://quillshiv.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/moll-white-remains/
Come one, come all eh?
ReplyDeleteTry to set them on fire! Maybe that'll save the planet! :)
Nice post, good thinking! :)
I got late with my entry this week. But here it is now:
http://faitaccompli.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/when-the-going-gets-tough/
Absolutely fantastic. I would echo that I love the light beginning and the furious way it builds and ends simply, if horrifically. (And sorry for the slowness on reading, but very glad I made it here eventually :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words. Glad you made it here.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda,
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you saw, but after your comment I felt so guilty (inspired?) that I wrote a story about a dragon hatching. Just for you.
check it out if you like at http://elmowrites.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/friday-fiction-8-2/
Jen