Write a story that weaves together multiple lives through their connection to a particular tree.

Posted in Spring on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 246 stories

“Shady's Shadow” by Elliot Turman

Submitted to Contest #90

Mrs. Sherwood assigned our class to write a romantic poem regarding anything we see on campus. As she let class out for us to look around, pondering what we’d want to write about - I already had my subject in mind. I fumbled down the crowded university hallways, trying to maneuver my slight stature through the flocks of students fervently racing to their classes, tutor sessions, meetings, or whatever occurrence had them in such a hurry. Inhaling one giant breath, I pushed open the east end doorway, closing my eyes while doing so. I stoo...

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“The Bounty of Arborsang” by Gregory Lupo

Submitted to Contest #90

The rising sun peeked over the Eastern mountainside on the quiet, verdant village of Arborsang. It was a small, secluded village nestled within a valley that could not be found, but would reveal itself to those who were invited. There was nothing magical about it, just remarkably obscure. You had to know where you were going. May had arrived and with it came summer. And with summer came time to harvest the Fruit of Arborsang. The Fruit could be found only in the tree known as Arborsang, and the only tree of its kind could be found in the epo...

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“Out Of My Tree!” by Devi VK

Submitted to Contest #90

February ’76“What does she even teach them?” Jay Ranjan snarled, walking languidly with his groupies up the unpaved road that led to the spot, making her shape out from a distance. “Who knows,” Santosh replied, kicking an empty aluminum can, raising tiny swirls of dust.“Could’ve stayed home, sewed, knitted, cooked - done anything but decides to teach instead. Strange!” Raju quipped, eager to join the conversation. “She can do whatever she wants,” Jay said, “as long as she stays away from...my tree,” He wanted to say ‘my property’, ...

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“The Birth of a Feud” by Karen Seeley

Submitted to Contest #90

It was the first thing Donna noticed as she walked towards the dock. Her physical reaction surprised her. A hot flush started in her stomach, and the sorrow made its way to her eyes, and rested there. She wasn’t aware that her hands were fists. Who would do this was her first thought, but she already knew the answer. That beautiful cedar that her grandmother had saved. There was talk of cutting it down when they building the dock. It was right at the lake shoreline interfered with the dock building. Someone mentioned that the cedar was a han...

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“Stories of a Tree” by Marlow Crow

Submitted to Contest #90

1692 I watched her leave the prison. Unlike the rest of the crowd, I was quiet. I had seen this before. The unfair punishment of the innocent. The uncontrolled rage of the scared. For the past 1,013 years I inhabited this earth, and generation after generation I noticed the same pattern. When a community is frightened of the unknown they force control over it. And if it can’t be controlled it must die. This was the unfortunate case of Bridget Bishop who found herself caught in the religious hysteria that was woven into the safety net of the ...

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“Love in the Bark” by Elizabeth Etzwiler

Submitted to Contest #90

This is a story of friendship, love, and heartache all at once. I know I could start it like back in the old days once upon a time, but this one starts in an apartment complex where I had lived and ended up meeting one of my best friends, her family, and at one time the love of my life. I met my friend, Heather, going into the eighth maybe ninth grade and she ended up moving in beside me. We were friends for awhile throughout school and I got to know her mom, stepdad, and sister. For the longest time I didn’t know that she had a brother. I...

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“Moving Through the Branches” by Sofia Leone

Submitted to Contest #90

Moving is something everyone has gone through, something that society sees a normal and not a big deal, But for me, it wasn't easy. I remember the day that my mom told me that I was moving like yesterday, I tried to convince myself that it wasn't going to happen and it was just an absurd idea, but deep down I knew it wasn't. I knew I would have to pack up all my stuff and leave the beloved home that I grew up in. The place I had made memories and the city in which all my closest friends and family lived, but I couldn't change anything, I was...

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“The biggest tree” by Sparkle Berry

Submitted to Contest #90

I was different. Gazing up at my family’s pale blue eyes, skimming past family portraits in the hallways, I’d question: Why do I have a darker complexion? Why wasn’t my hair blonde like my sisters? As early as age four or five, I became cognizant of these differences. My personality, my likes, and dislikes all appeared to be complete opposites of my family. One of my earliest faint memories was a family member joking about me not being “biological.” It never left my mind. All these events culminated on the day where I would discover an...

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“The Miracle Tree” by Bianca Malesevic

Submitted to Contest #90

I was young, seven, maybe. A couple of boys in my class told me that if I went to the Westman house and stayed there for five minutes they would give me $20. They bet because they knew I wouldn’t be able to do it. They knew by my shaky knees and how I sometimes cried in class because I missed my mom that I couldn’t do it. And yet, I opened the door of the creepy, abandoned house that the whole street talks about in a hushed tone and stepped in. The inside looked like it had once been beautiful. The stairs, now chipped and probably creaky, ...

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“Obidos Dance” by Irene Ikeadigh

Submitted to Contest #90

Obidos Dance. The tree was bare, black against the orange sky. It is dusk in Obido of the Sahel savannah. A little village of about six hundred adults and children. Ufot trudges to the stem of the tree and leaning against it as he takes out his tobacco snuff box. "Mmmmm mmmmm!" Thanks to providence, the rain is almost here. No more dusty eyelids, cracked lips and heels or red eyes caused by too many dust particles. Ufot scoops tobacco from the little container that has seen better days. Before the twinkl...

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“The Ancestorial tree.” by Brian Barrott

Submitted to Contest #90

The Ancestorial tree. Hurt muscles, along with a head that rung, accompanied me to regain consciousness, waves of visual distortion slowly brought into focus a small strange old-fashioned room. Beneath me, a terra cotta tiled floor, formed from a previous visual patch of red. Next to my make-shift bed, large African ornaments surrounded me. As my senses returned pungent smells of burning fire, dust, dark wood, cats, and a caged bird, hit my nose. Looking around, within an antique stone hearth, dancing flames accompanied a staccato of cra...

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“The tree of Arveria” by Livia Santos

Submitted to Contest #90

There's a tree in the middle of the woods. The tree is a beautiful creation of nature. No one that lives knows how she got there, but that didn't stop them from making myths about her. They call her Mother. The people that live in Arveria believed that all life comes from the tree. And so, the tree needs to be protected from the ones that might want to cause it harm. Because of that, the people built a castle around the tree. No one lives there except her. Years went by and eventually the people of Arveria stopped going to the tree and stopp...

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“Je Me Souviens” by Risha Tevins

Submitted to Contest #90

1. DespairThe soldier's hands shook. He trembled. He wept.Conscious thought eluded him at that moment, eclipsed by the paralysis that seemed to have seized control of his functions. He stood there, amidst the bruised soil and the shattered, red-rimmed skies. Tears wept down his face - a muddied river of rust and salted loss.The grit and grime of the past few years still clung onto him, coating him in a visceral reminder of his own sins. His feet ached, chest burned, and the fist around his heart a tight choke-hold that drained what little st...

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“Centuries” by Ryker Stonaly

Submitted to Contest #90

Sage has been around far longer than those around them. They had seen things others could only dream of. More often than not they wished their memories were purely that. Dreams. Things they’d conjured up during the brief periods in time when they were able to rest. To simply close their eyes and drift. Except they couldn’t drift. Quite the opposite actually.&nbsp...

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“White Flowers in the Wind” by Ellita Styles

Submitted to Contest #90

1. “Pass me the ball!” Sarah could hear the little girl’s voice in her head, as if she was right there in front of her. Sarah stood in front of a towering skyscraper- a lean, ebony-black majestic edifice designed with modern-era architecture pierced proudly through the ground towards the sky. The cars swished past behind her, like swishes of colors. People kept walking and talking, minding their own worlds and not stopping a moment to spare a glance. Sarah was no different from the crowd. She already had a mountain of stress and work t...

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Write a story that weaves together multiple lives through their connection to a particular tree.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 246 stories

“Shady's Shadow” by Elliot Turman

“The Bounty of Arborsang” by Gregory Lupo

“Out Of My Tree!” by Devi VK

“The Birth of a Feud” by Karen Seeley

“Stories of a Tree” by Marlow Crow

“Love in the Bark” by Elizabeth Etzwiler

“Moving Through the Branches” by Sofia Leone

“The biggest tree” by Sparkle Berry

“The Miracle Tree” by Bianca Malesevic

“Obidos Dance” by Irene Ikeadigh

“The Ancestorial tree.” by Brian Barrott

“The tree of Arveria” by Livia Santos

“Je Me Souviens” by Risha Tevins

“Centuries” by Ryker Stonaly

“White Flowers in the Wind” by Ellita Styles

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in which an endangered species (of plant or animal) plays a central role.

Set your story in a world living with the consequences of a climate apocalypse.

Write about a community that worships Mother Nature.

Start your story with someone sitting on a crowded train and end it with them looking out over beautiful natural scenery.

Contest #90

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

814

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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