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

“Sanctuary Tree” by Kenneth Diao

Submitted to Contest #90

It was a hot day. The sun beat down, frying my scalp and burning my skin. Sweat stung my eyes. My tongue was dry as dust. I despaired. I can’t keep going, I thought. I felt the despair tangle with the irritation and resentment building in my gut. Why did it have to be so hot? Why today? Why now? I just wanted to curl up and die. No, that wouldn’t do. But what else was there to do? Keep wandering until I died? That’d be real fun. Go back? No. There was no going back. Keep wandering it is, I thought. I shuffled forward. One step. Then another....

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“The Argument” by Joe Swanson

Submitted to Contest #90

It began as most disagreements do. A misunderstanding of ones intentions, a word taking on a meaning not associated with an action, stupidity. We all are capable of mistakes that find their way into a realm of interpretation. A time, a place, a venue that cajoles the worst from us. Later we stop and consider how it happened, why, but move on only after reassuring ourselves it will never happen again. And then it does. Sometimes the impetus is too little or too much of a boost to ones ego to be of significance, someti...

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“Churuli” by Lakshmy Das

Submitted to Contest #90

“Time is relative,” remarked Churuli. She isn't a physicist. In fact, Churuli has never been to school. She hasn’t heard of Einstein. Come to think of it, not even about the Mahatma. Her theory of time came from the tree. She used to say that it spoke to her when they were alone. She lived near the Banyan tree for years, making it her home while protecting it with her subtle presence. Both the tree and the woman stood as the centre of our small community. The banyan was old and like the earth upon which it thrived; it was home to many. From ...

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“Children of the Dogwood” by E.C. Nickelson

Submitted to Contest #90

Around her, arrows flew, long black hair waved behind the men, war cries whooped, and redmen fell. The girl's last words were silenced by the yell of her fellow tribesmen at war. "Daddy..." His kind smile, dark brown eyes, coal-black hair, and tan buckskins floated before her caramel eyes. "Daddy." She sighed, breathing his last, cradled by the soft grass under the bows of the pink dogwood tree. She could see him in the distance. She ran to him, her chest no longer hurting or covered in blood. She could see clear rivers with no ...

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“Live Oak” by Cindi Lin

Submitted to Contest #90

Lyra was destined to become an aerial artist. After all, her name was Lyra like a lyra hoop artist. She imagined herself working as a professional circus acrobat after the first time her mother took her to the local fair. There before her wondrous 8-year-old eyes, she saw a magical dancer spinning round and round on one of those lyra hoops, her body spinning infinite circles 20 plus feet in the air. Now twenty years of age, Lyra stared up at the live oak tree that stood in front of her parents' beachside chalet. This was her vacation throu...

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“Cherry Blossom feels” by Soghra Fatima

Submitted to Contest #90

On the 3rd Street, Macon Georgia lies a wondrous sight of cherry blossom trees which sooth it's onlookers who pass by. It is said to be there for quite a long time as locals say this is the most withholding sight in the entire state and have witnessed it's compelling purity for several decades.Leanne GinnetMy head is bursting with various thoughts on my way to school, I'd do anything than attend another day of this miserable torture. A few girls pass by me, almost pushing me down on the slippery rainy street as a result my socks and eyes are...

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“Red leaves” by Mariana Del Rosal

Submitted to Contest #90

First, there was the seed. Nobody was there to witness the wind carrying it around thanks to its little wing. Or perhaps it got tangled on the feathers of a bird. Neither the animal nor the seed can tell us where or when it all began. In any case, the seed fell to the ground. And it was dark, rich, fertile soil. Soon, the little seed was buried deep enough, yet not too deep. Rains were kind that season. The sun warmed up the land. And, among herbs and wildflowers, a little sprout emerged from the ground the following spring. “I think this pl...

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“THE SEED.” by Patricia Green

Submitted to Contest #90

THE SEED. High above the mountains the crow soared through the glorious sunshine, with a full stomach, and a family waiting for her to return. As she flew over the tiny Town of Lilydale she passed the seeds of the Mulberry she had eaten earlier. The seeds landed in a vacant block not far from the main street of the town. The vacant block had a For Sale sign standing high on the Main Road, which now had a large “sold” smeared across it. &...

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“Roots of Fire” by Sofia C

Submitted to Contest #90

TW: burning There stood a tree. An ordinary, sturdy oak tree. It shed its leaves every winter, and smiled at the pastel sunsets in summer with curved leaves that whispered to the wind in wise murmurs that only the oldest souls know of. It knew it was dying, that too many clouds had shadowed it with their smiles and anger, with their soft faces and their limbs of thunder and lightning that struck out at the tree. It stood tall and waved at the sky, saying farewell to the birds showering squirrels with leaves of copper and gold. It was ready t...

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“In the Garden of Hesperide” by Aaron Measer

Submitted to Contest #90

Danny came to see me today, Sara. You would have been proud. He was all dressed up in his Navy blues, his white cap and metal pins bright as ever. He seemed happy. Not as angry. I think you were right, as always. I think he's going to be ok. I've become nostalgic in my old age, spending my days and nights reminiscing about you and others, remembering how it was all those years ago. I remember some of those wild nights in our youth, and it makes me chuckle. We were the worst, weren't we, the trees that make us groan now? How we changed...

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“The rejected apple” by Yaj Imagination

Submitted to Contest #90

You can never tell something's value just by one look, for sometimes what is trash for others is gold for another. In a small hill behind the school, a little girl sits on the grassy field looking weary. She had puffy eyes, runny nose, and salty water falls within her eyes as she hold an apple close into her heart. It was now a rejected apple, which she once thought could help her make friends. Yet the other children only laugh at was she brought, for they were too spoiled with gadgets and toys, and couldn't understand the true worth of an a...

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“I am a tree” by RIC .

Submitted to Contest #90

I am a tree. Older than the oldest human being. I was around before you were born and will be around once you die. You are me, and I am you. And I have seen many a human throughout my life. When I was just a little sapling, I met my first human. It was tall, but then again, everything was… or I was just little. It was tall and had dark skin like the color of my bark. It had fur on its head that was bushy (pun completely intended). It was the...

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“Crimson Blue Blossom” by Kiamesha Denise Sims

Submitted to Contest #90

Preface: It was three days after when her beloved heard of her fate. To marry another and never return. He knelt before a stump that was blossoming. “I curse this world and all it touches because of how cruel they’ve been to us,” “They will no longer know peace, joy, and knowledge,” he recited. He died from grief and the overwhelming power within after reciting this decree. Freya flowed crimson tears as she gripped the blossom in her hands. The roots grounded her, trapping her in. Her wails saved the world for now. It has ...

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“The Two Marys” by Rahnyah Stormyst

Submitted to Contest #90

The Two MarysThe evening was chilly, and the lanterns lit the night. Eerie shadows danced upon the walls as the young boy named Azariah looked up and said. " Abba, I see three stars close to the moon." Simon came close and ruffled the hair of his son and looked up into the night sky and nodded." Yes, my son. There are three stars in the night sky. Shabbat Shalom." He looked to Yeshua and said," Ok, brother, tell your wife to bring the food. We hunger! "James said, "Simon! play the lute." Simon growled slightly and grabbed the lute, and began...

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“Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree...” by Jeannie Labelle -Potvin

Submitted to Contest #90

It started long ago in the garden of Eden, when Adam said to Eve…”Don’t sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me!”The story begins as a bit of a game, turns into quite a drama and then? Well, the rest becomes history. The original characters, Adam and Eve share some rather complicated genetics. For starters, they have the same Father. Now, that is a long story best left for another telling. Suffice to say, it involves complicated transplant surgery and gender realignment. A Snake also appears and his story gets a little com...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 246 stories

“Sanctuary Tree” by Kenneth Diao

“The Argument” by Joe Swanson

“Churuli” by Lakshmy Das

“Children of the Dogwood” by E.C. Nickelson

“Live Oak” by Cindi Lin

“Cherry Blossom feels” by Soghra Fatima

“Red leaves” by Mariana Del Rosal

“THE SEED.” by Patricia Green

“Roots of Fire” by Sofia C

“In the Garden of Hesperide” by Aaron Measer

“The rejected apple” by Yaj Imagination

“I am a tree” by RIC .

“Crimson Blue Blossom” by Kiamesha Denise Sims

“The Two Marys” by Rahnyah Stormyst

“Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree...” by Jeannie Labelle -Potvin

🌟 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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