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

“Dream a Little Sycamore Dream ” by Aj Lumague

Submitted to Contest #90

June 1777The soft tread of moccasins on the ground of the New World has disappeared. Now it seems that the people are ghosts on the prairie and their feet grace only the forgotten hunting paths. They and nature have tasted the bitter tang of the cruelties borne by the pale-faced hand and even now, while more arrive on wooden boats, they can only wonder what more this will bring. Dozens of ships had docked here decades ago, bringing with them a new manner of beast and man, unlike the brown-skinned people of the plains. Moonfaced men...

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“A Day in the Life of a Big Oak Tree” by Amanda Lieser

Submitted to Contest #90

When I was seventeen I climbed a big oak tree. I looked out on the park beneath my feet and I watched the sunset. I liked sunsets in Colorado because they were always colorful. They filled the air with yellows, oranges, pinks, purples, and ended with a deep blue. I enjoyed watching the sun rays reach through the leaves of the big oak tree. First, I would drive to the park from work after a long shift. I would open up the sun roof of my Volvo and listen to loud love songs, sometimes loud songs of heartbreak. Once I parked, ...

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“IN THE SHADOW OF THE BIG OAK” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #90

IN THE SHADOW OF THE BIG OAK “ Here, it is still there” Lucy said, with a wiggle of her chin to point straight , over there, at the end of the lawn. She was looking out the window. In front of the house there was a vegetable garden, with also some fruit trees, a plum tree, two pear trees, three cherry trees. Beyond the vegetable garden there was the lawn, of modest side, a strip of land which was not cultivated, to let grass grow, which later would have become hay. Over there, at the end of the lawn ther...

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“Heart” by Chris D

Submitted to Contest #90

Who knew a flick of a knife could create such a legacy? All he'd wanted was to profess his love to the world, or at very least the people of this park. And probably the squirrels that would scurry up the tree, or the dogs that would use it as their personal toilet. Ugh, he did not want to think about that wretched yapping neighbor dog peeing on his love proclamation. AJ + SS He'd carved a heart around it. It's supposed to be a heart, though it's slightly asymmetrical, because she set her hand on his knee as he was making his second sid...

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“"Earth to down "” by Tariq Saeed

Submitted to Contest #90

In 1976,after completing my matriculation in A grade, Father became excited and in connection of this excitement he gave me a Black Mercedes Benz car, as a special gift,bought new suits and shoes for me and admitted me in a very well reputed Institution of Peshawar ,Pakistan. It indeed excited me a lot and considering my self as a hero ,it made me little rude and battered ,became a gossiping figure in family and friend’s circle made me a poppet and twitched me towards dri...

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“Oak Tree” by Pako Dunwhile

Submitted to Contest #90

Once an insignificant acorn, the large oak tree grew its fragile roots deep into the fertile soil. A passing deer was chased away by a far away noise as the sapling enjoyed the fresh meadow air. On that spot the growing tree sprouted into the sky year by year. Its adolescent branches extended out becoming a home for all species of native birds and squirrels. Its trunk swelled to the official width of 48.9 inches around its dark trunk. A tree that would change a small frontier town forever. The citizens of Love-an-Oak prized havi...

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“The Tree of Prophecies ” by Ruby Skelton

Submitted to Contest #90

The tree knew everything. It saw everyone. But was it ever happy? Was it ever really alive? Now that matters on opinion, but did a tree really have an opinion? Does an immortal life even have a soul? Mia knew her dad didn't really love her, but she liked to tell herself that he did. She'd learned to cover the bruises pretty well, cheap makeup did the trick. But she couldn't keep it up forever, she had to find a way out. Most days after school she'd try to keep herself busy until it was utterly necessary to go home, but today was different. ...

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“The Pear Tree” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #90

Ron“I have it now – my own farm. I am working for myself – not my father or my older brothers, but myself. And of course for my wife Diana and our child-to-be. I’m sad, sure, that Granddad died, but the money that he left me gave me enough for a down payment on this farm. And I’m going to make it like no other farm in the area. People, especially my family members, are always saying ‘Ronnie has his own mind. He always does things his own way.’. I d...

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“The Oak Tree” by Rosie 95

Submitted to Contest #90

It all started with a tiny acorn on May 13th, nine years ago. I was seven at that time. My family had just moved from Beijing, China. We knew very little English, and knew nothing of the culture. We were at the Chinese border when I saw a pretty rock. “Mamma! Don’t run over the rock!” I cried. Mamma had looked kindly at me, and stopped the car. I then raced out of the car, and snatched up the rock. Once I got back into the car, I showed mamma the rock. She laughed and said, “Chan-Juan, my dear, you have found an acorn! Plant it once...

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“Now I Have Seen Everything!” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #90

My beginnings were humble, a bit shameful and wile. A bird dropped me on a stump. I sprouted from the unsuspecting stump and soon strangled it to rise my head. Today, I am referred to as the Great One. After all, I belong to a tribe under which people have attained enlightenment. My location is such, it’s both a curse and a boon. It is at a doorway, both to hell and heaven. At times I feel I have seen everything there is to see. 250 years is a long time. In my younger days, I was taken good care of. The area around me was filled with green...

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“Love, Hope, and a Price” by Ashmit Kar

Submitted to Contest #90

The green leaves were a vision in perpetuity in the rainy summer evening. The clouds hid the sun behind her shaded groves. A sliver of light still managed to escape and came down on the leaves like heaven’s grace. It was a sight to behold. Four strangers stood around it in a not-so-random pattern, attention rapt on the sifting sunlight in the weathered vane, set against the backdrop of rain and hail. If you were to ask them what they were so caught up in, they would not have ...

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“The White Oak” by Claire A. Jones

Submitted to Contest #90

Mary didn't know which woke her first, the sound of shattering glass or the feel of cold rain on her face, but she was yanked from dream to reality so quickly that her brain wobbled. She kicked her legs out of bed and yanked the tangled sheets from her feet. “What the...?” She blinked her gummy eyes and looked at the offending window. A branch had fallen and hit the lower panes, dumping smatters of rain and frigid air into the bedroom. It dawned on Mary that it might be time to have the tree looked at. Damn… that was going to be expe...

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“The Tree of Love” by Dymphi Rombouts

Submitted to Contest #90

In a meadow filled with wildflowers stood a single tree. The tree itself was nearly two hundred years old. It had seen many people throughout the years. It had seen happiness, sadness, life, and death. The meadow was a beautiful place. The tree had seen many changes in the meadow, but it had always remained beautiful. Perhaps that was why people were drawn to it. When the tree was just a young sapling, it had been marked. Two lovers had carved their mark in its bark, hoping to eternalize their love. “Marcus, you can’t do that!” th...

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“I Was Once a Tree” by Delphine Hintz

Submitted to Contest #90

“I was once a young man not too much unlike yourself, and I thought the world open to me if only I could live long enough. I covered deserts and scaled mountains, trying to find the one thing that would extend my years.” “Did you find it?” The old man grinned. “What do you think? “At last, only a few miles from the village from whence I came, I found an old spiritist who told me that she could make my life last for centuries if only I wished it and would give her all the knowledge I had gained in my travels. I agreed, of course, and after ye...

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“The Old Lady Is About To Perish” by Alin Nagraj

Submitted to Contest #90

“The Old Lady is about to Perish” read the email header. Ramya was intrigued, she had subscribed to this news website after she heard her grandfather's stories about this sleepy little town. Nothing of interest ever happened there, she only glanced through it sometimes to get some small-talk material with her grandfather, who was rapidly losing his memory and only remembered his youth and the lazy days in Mahanagar. Named so, as it was designed to become the epicenter of economic growth in the area but became a town nobody knew about. ...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 246 stories

“Dream a Little Sycamore Dream ” by Aj Lumague

“A Day in the Life of a Big Oak Tree” by Amanda Lieser

“IN THE SHADOW OF THE BIG OAK” by Mara Masolini

“Heart” by Chris D

“"Earth to down "” by Tariq Saeed

“Oak Tree” by Pako Dunwhile

“The Tree of Prophecies ” by Ruby Skelton

“The Pear Tree” by John Steckley

“The Oak Tree” by Rosie 95

“Now I Have Seen Everything!” by Suma Jayachandar

“Love, Hope, and a Price” by Ashmit Kar

“The White Oak” by Claire A. Jones

“The Tree of Love” by Dymphi Rombouts

“I Was Once a Tree” by Delphine Hintz

“The Old Lady Is About To Perish” by Alin Nagraj

🌟 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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