Thursday, 19 April 2012

FRIDAY FICTIONEERS - 20 of April - THE GROTTO- My 100 words - from Linda Palund




THE GROTTO

Don’t go in there, I warned them.  Stay away from that fecund place, that verdant grotto. But they had already seen its fragrant pools, the moss dripping overhead.  They longed for the sticky sweetness of it, like honey, that moisture overflowing with life.
They open their mouths, feeling the first drops on their tongues, cool and sweet, then hot and fiery.  Soon they can’t get enough.  They lap at the soaking moss until the fronds stick to their teeth, until their tongues rub against the very root of it.  Their mouths full, they cannot stop, blissfully trapped within succulent walls.



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32 comments:

  1. Anonymous20 April 2012 at 06:14

    Loved "verdant grotto." Became more and more curious as to what species "they" are...

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  2. Linda Palund20 April 2012 at 12:15

    I couldn't stop myself from writing this. It is just stream of consiousness from looking at the picture. A Rhorshark test to me...

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    1. Sussan De Allura23 April 2012 at 22:25

      And it is so wonderful. I want to soak up that cool water, too. I just glanced at your 100 words Linda, when I first saw it posted. I did not want to be influenced by any other vision then. Totally side smacked me in the last few weeks. I do as you do! I finally took ONE look at the photo prompt. My vision came first in a dream and after that. I waited for my 100 words to come to me. I only had 165 in the beginning...damn, every word cut hurts. Ah but the impact of concise writing is so much more. Less IS more in this case. I love your writing Linda! You have always inspired me...

      23 April 2012 22:19

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  3. Wakefield Mahon20 April 2012 at 12:21

    I love the rich descriptions. Great piece!

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  4. Jess Schira20 April 2012 at 12:53

    Uh Oh, something bad happened while they were drinking in the grotto! I want to know more. Great job:)

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  5. Carlos20 April 2012 at 13:02

    That's Rorschach, by the way; you must be becoming English, putting 'R's in words that don't have them (and taking them out of words that do). Your story was very... pungent, like forensic biology porn. Really a good effort, very poetic and kind of disgusting at the same time. That's kind of why I couldn't write a story this week. I had similar thoughts but could not bring myself to face them.

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  6. Linda Palund20 April 2012 at 13:09

    I thought as much. Imagaination failed us! The photo was too overpoweringly viseral and we succumbed. We should have seen it differently. Other folks saw dripping caves to take shelter in, dangerous holes to fall into, etc, but our minds stayed in the gutter...

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  7. Sandra Crook20 April 2012 at 14:15

    Well it was a highly entertaining gutter! Nice one, visceral or not. You never fail.
    My very chaste offering can be found at:

    http://castelsarrasin.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/spellbound-friday-fictioneers-april-2012/

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  8. Anonymous20 April 2012 at 16:09

    I was reminded of Doug's description of Summer's "bermuda triangle" from last week and I hope you're going the same way here, otherwise it's just my mind. Rorschach or whoever he is would have something to say about both of us! (I'm just off to kill Carlos for his disrespect to the mother country!)
    I’m over here: http://elmowrites.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/friday-fiction-maturity/

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  9. Linda Palund20 April 2012 at 16:41

    Ha about Carlos and my extra r's and the English language in England. And, no you are not wrong, that Bermuda triangle has these poor souls in its grasp, too!
    Thanks for the comment - off to look at your offering...
    Laura

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  10. Andy20 April 2012 at 17:09

    I really like your story. Feels like a cave equivalent of a venus flytrap with some wierd biological, narcotic pull for its victims. Very inventive. :-) Thanks for reading mine over at:

    http://andyfloodwritersblog.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/lowtown-hanami-haikyo/

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    1. Andy20 April 2012 at 17:20

      Oops, also your link on my page was a link to your log in for blogger (username/email instead of url) might be worth checking you haven't done the same elsewhere).

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    2. Linda Palund20 April 2012 at 18:14

      OH my god! I put in the stupid @ sign in my address by mistake - and I did it everywhere!

      Yikes - so it was my fault!

      That's what I get for doing this early in my English morning!
      Laura Lindaura

      Delete
  11. Linda Palund20 April 2012 at 17:15

    Oooooh, I like the Venus Fly trap association!

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    Replies
    1. Unknown23 April 2012 at 22:36

      Me too! Nice. Makes me want to get out of that intoxicating, if not seductive cave now!

      This is Sussan, I do not seem to be handling my posts very well.

      Delete
  12. Unknown20 April 2012 at 19:26

    Whoa, very descriptive. Like a gruesome detective novel I can't put down. (reading one now).

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  13. LupusAnthropos20 April 2012 at 20:19

    Actually, I was thinking pitcher plant, rather than Venus flytrap, because of the dripping, but I love how you handled it. Nicely done!

    Here's mine: http://wp.me/p24aJS-3Z

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  14. Russell20 April 2012 at 20:29

    A very addictive nectar. I thought you did a great job with (what was for me) a very difficult prompt.

    http://russellgayer.blogspot.com/

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  15. Anonymous20 April 2012 at 21:23

    Very rich description. It too was thinking of a Venus flytrap.

    Here's mine
    http://tollykitsjourney.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/flash-fiction-story-2-for-fridayfictioneers-flashfiction

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  16. Susan Wenzel20 April 2012 at 22:09

    Ahhh...the forbidden fruit...or waters as the case may be. The temptation is often too much for some...and they pay with their lives.

    ~Susan

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  17. T.E.Schoenborn20 April 2012 at 22:21

    So many hidden truths, is the story about water or?

    Here's mine:http://teschoenborn.com/2012/04/20/friday-fictioneer-5/

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  18. Anonymous20 April 2012 at 22:50

    This was hypnotic and I loved it, Linda. Very different from anything else of yours I can remember reading.

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  19. C.C. 20 April 2012 at 22:53

    I echo Madison's comment; hypnotic is right. Pulling you in and you just can't stop! Nice work with that.

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  20. Carrie21 April 2012 at 03:54

    so good it's a trap :)

    thanks for visiting my blog today

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  21. The Drabbler21 April 2012 at 04:16

    This one really creeped me out. The grotto seemed like a siren's song, calling unwary people into its welcome arms, only to trap them there forever...
    Thanks for sharing!
    Here's my more humorous take:
    http://the-drabbler.com/splat/

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  22. littlewonder221 April 2012 at 05:04

    Wow, what a description! I really feel for them and their addiction (and disgusted though). The type of imagery you can't turn away from!

    http://littlewonder2.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/friday-fictioneers-bats/

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  23. rich21 April 2012 at 05:09

    yeah, it always starts out like fun, and then things go wrong... nice job!

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  24. Parul21 April 2012 at 18:18

    Enticing and deceitful!
    Good work! Lyrical! Thanks for sharing!

    Parul
    http://faitaccompli.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/layla/

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  25. Douglas MacIlroy22 April 2012 at 11:47

    Dear Linda,

    This was a beguiling piece of work. just as 'they' are sucked into the grotto, so to are we by your dulcet tone and soothing, yet ultimately deadly words. loved it.

    Aloha,

    Doug

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  26. Karen Nelson22 April 2012 at 13:47

    Insidious! Great story (but I wonder what happens to the one telling it????) Thanks!

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  27. writingbothsides22 April 2012 at 23:29

    I like the interplay of contrasts and the sexual insinuations. 'blissfully trapped within succulent walls' is poetic.

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  28. Linda Palund23 April 2012 at 00:40

    Thanks to everyone who enjoyed (enjoyed?). I couldn't help writing it, because that was what it made me think of and I only tried to write it as beautifully as I could.
    Laura Linda Lindaura

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