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

“Their Tree ” by Delaney Burton

Submitted to Contest #90

She was flying. Higher and higher if only she could fly to another place. Get away from this stupid town. When she came here for a weekend two months ago she never expected to actually have to stay. She wanted to go back to mom, wherever she was. If only she could live in the tree, that was her safe place away from the constant yelling. The anger that had eaten her mom alive and why she’d left her only daughter here, Millie would never understand. Higher and higher towards the bright blue sky and then she heard a slight cough and tumbled to ...

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“Seasonal tree” by Circus Freak

Submitted to Contest #90

It all starts with a seed. A seed that has been dropped by the farmer. A simple mistake, however, mistakes aren't always bad. The farmer doesn't notice it grow for a year as it sits in the shade of an unmoved tractor; rusty, old and broken down. It sprouts, green leaves making it stand tall. Time goes by. This seed, one that had been not been seen for 3 years more, grows a thin trunk and its branches reach higher, however in the shadow of the tractor, it cannot reach its full potential. The farmer invites his family over to come help work ...

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“Together We Fall” by Natalie Park

Submitted to Contest #90

Moore shivered. His boots crunched through the thin layer of frost trampled on the ground, frozen mud clinging to their sides. He ached with weariness—and by the looks on the other men’s faces, so did everyone else. They had been marching for three straight days now; breaks were sparse and brief. Moore was growing tired of the sight of endless silver-fogged woods, the stagnant gray sky, the monochromatic foliage. The bite and chill of the winter air did nothing to help.Williams nudged him with his shoulder. “How’re you holding up?”“Great,” M...

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“Rings” by Ette Stark

Submitted to Contest #90

“Potential energy,” the arborist said. “Come again?” asked the plump, business-casual man standing next to him. The heat was making his short-sleeved button up shirt damp in spots and it was sticking to him in places. Beads of sweat were forming along his receding hairline. “That’s what the trees are after they’re cut down,” he explained, as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world. “They might be dead, but, the way I see it, their bodies are full of this potential energy. You know that kind of energy you learn about in element...

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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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“Hollow” by Piotr Parda

Submitted to Contest #90

The newborn was wriggling against the cold dead oak leaves. She tossed and kicked her tiny limbs but it wasn’t enough to keep her warm. Few minutes more and she would have died of hypothermia."What was a newborn child doing in the middle of nowhere, on a cold autumn night?"There was no time to ask such questions now for Lt. Roberts.With gentle haste he wrapped the baby in his police jacket and put her in the back seat of his old Toyota.“Damn heaters! They never warm up fast enough!”, he thought."Poor little munchkin!", Lt. Roberts glimp...

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“Lost Lovers' Beech” by Eileanor Crilly

Submitted to Contest #90

The people of Southwold had christened it ‘Lost Lover’s Beech’. The tree had stood for decades at the perimeter of the village playing fields, where the neatly mowed grass merged into the sprawling spinney. Children were cautioned not to enter the small gathering of trees or go near the Beech. Parents warned their sons and daughters that there were spirits wandering the woods or that the badger setts in there were home to goblins. Harmless myth to keep local kids from being stung by nettles or twisting their ankles tripping over tree roots. ...

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“Roots of Time” by C E Mutya

Submitted to Contest #90

I was young then, small and slender. I grew next to a small town in a wide park. Back in those days it was very peaceful. I used to watch the kids play in the grass nearby. One small kid, Marcus, used to try and climb my slim branches that could barely hold his weight. Every time his mother brought him to the park to play he would run to me like I was his favourite friend. She would often grip his little body and pull him away from me if he got too high, his little arms clinging to me for as long as he could while his shrill wails felt like ...

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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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“The Witness Tree” by Beth White

Submitted to Contest #90

The snow was coming down thicker and faster as Meg took the Taneytown Road exit from Route 15. The storm forecast for later tonight was already here, but Meg had a promise to keep. She drove through the familiar landscape of the Gettysburg battlefield. She had visited here since she was a young child. There had been many trips, and she knew there would be many more. Meg pulled into the parking lot just as a park ranger stopped at the National Cemetery gate. Meg knew what it meant. The cemetery was closing earl...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 246 stories

“Their Tree ” by Delaney Burton

“Seasonal tree” by Circus Freak

“Together We Fall” by Natalie Park

“Rings” by Ette Stark

“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

“Hollow” by Piotr Parda

“Lost Lovers' Beech” by Eileanor Crilly

“Roots of Time” by C E Mutya

“The Miracle Tree” by Bianca Malesevic

“The Witness Tree” by Beth White

🌟 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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