Snow scatters in the wind like grain to a scythe. White tendrils whisk across the road, accumulating at times into pure whiteouts. It’s hard to tell the difference between snow falling and snow drifting. Evergreens line the road with sagging snow-laden branches and pavement hides beneath the frozen mat. We live where snow-tires are a must. Anyone who tries to fudge that requirement finds out how much it costs for a tow from a ditch or snowbank. Already the city of Hancock is removing snow to the fairgrounds. It is December 12, 2019, and we’ve had 62 inches of snowfall.
Welcome to the lee side of Lake Superior, where her snow globe is in full swing.
It might be time to break into song, “Oh, the weather outside is frightful…” But it’s not all that bad. We adjust here in the Keweenaw. I had an appointment a few days ago, drove through. swirling snow, and stomped my boots as I entered the building. The receptionist said, “That time a year, eh?”
Yes, it’s that boot-stomping, snow-blowing, globe-living time of year again, and I’m settling right into the rhythm. Driving 12 miles to the Hub’s ortho appointments is a breeze compared to the 200 miles we had to drive the past two winters. What has changed? The VA is working with local providers for those of us who live far away from urban VA hospitals. It continues to be a major battle with every approval comes a VA retraction. Medical records don’t get sent.
But our orthopedics center in Larium is fighting for us. After driving through snow dervishes, the nurse greeted us with a growl that she had a battle with Iron Mountain (the Hub’s primary VA. hospital) but finally found the right person to get the right records, and now she had that phone number. We are so grateful for their dedication because they don’t have to deal with the VA. They could refuse to work with veterans like many centers do. So, we appreciate the good care, the willingness to deal with a difficult system, and the close proximity to home.
Before driving through the blowing snow tunnel again, we took full advantage of stopping in at Cafe Rosetta. It’s a small Finnish coffee shop with scratch-made soups, sandwiches, and lavender-honey coffee. They even tolerate my BLT alteration — bacon, sprouts, guacamole, and pepper jack cheese, toasted on whole wheat with a smear of mayo. It’s a divine place to watch the snow howl down Main Street.
And, it’s where I encountered the gnomes.
Bearded fellas with tall woolen and pointy hats (not ears), the Joulutonttu is the Finnish Christmas elf. Cafe Rosetta was overrun with the stuffed figures, in caps gray or dull red. While associated with winter solstice and Christmas, the gnomes protect the house. There’s even a Joulutonttu Sauna — a sauna gnome! His job is to make sure everyone behaves in the sauna. That makes me giggle because I then think up all kinds of ways to misbehave.
If you aren’t familiar, the Fins sauna instead of bathe or shower. Today, I imagine they do both, but it’s still regarded as a weekly activity. We have a cedar sauna built into our house on the lower level and can dive into the snow afterward. I’m not kidding. It’s a thing! We sit in a wooden box with heated rocks that we pour a dipper of water over and then sweat in the steam, followed by a cold plunge outside and a warm dinner. Many people on the Keweenaw sauna. The heat penetrates all the way to your bones. It’s considered fortifying and helps if you have a winter cold. If the idea of the snow plunge unsettles you, opt for a shower.
I think I need to find a sauna gnome made of stone. I like the idea of a Joulutonttu living in the small cedar room off the back of our house.
Finals are quickly approaching. I’m finishing up three novels for required reading and several books. This week and next, one of my courses is focusing on the contemporary fiction genre. I found out that I’m in the minority with my MFA. Most of my cohort are writing speculative novels. With much thought and class discussion, it finally occurred to me what I love most about writing — exploration. And that’s what contemporary fiction does. Themes, styles, and elements can vary, but contemporary fiction explores who and why within a setting of realism.
I’m finally starting to see how I can construct my novel, too. We’ve been deepening our understanding of story arcs, and the complexity of multiple sub-plots added to drive the tension forward. One article I read this week challenged the notion of novels being plot or character-driven; they are all tension-driven. It can be external (plot) or internal (character), but it’s tension that turns the page for readers. Conflict can often come in the form of clashing values, no villain required.
I’ve also added a step before using my W-storyboard that has me plotting to be a better plantser. First step is to plot an arc; second is to draft scenes; third is to map the scenes with the help of the W layout shows both internal and external tension and mimics a hero’s (protagonist’s) journey. A-ha! And I have an expanded idea in the hero’s journey arena, too. An element of contemporary fiction is that the narrative generally focuses on a character’s journey and emotional experience. The call sets up a promise, and the elixir follows through with a satisfying outcome, which does not have to be a happy or expected ending.
In the novel Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd, every time her protagonist experienced growth as a character, there was a consequence. Each time, the stakes got higher to the point that her life was in jeopardy. So, her final act in the novel is courageous and seems to satisfy the reader as a conclusion, but actually ends before we witness the consequence we know must follow. I won’t spoil what that means specifically, but the ending ties back to the opening, and it’s a brilliant conclusion, though not it leaves us wondering how much more suffering continued.
For me, it’s back to snow and books.
December 12, 2019, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a gnome. It can be a garden gnome, a Christmas Joulutonttu, or a sauna protector. You can write magical realism, or feature contemporary gnome-like product. Go where the prompt leads!
Respond by December 17, 2019. Use the comment section below to share, read, and be social. You may leave a link, pingback, or story in the comments. If you want to be published in the weekly collection, please use the form. Rules & Guidelines.
Submissions closed. Find our latest Flash Fiction Challenge.
House Protector by Charli Mills
The Russian soldier came on baking day. The Finnish women kept their kerchiefed heads bowed. He dismounted, kicked the oafish-looking gnome statue, and grabbed the youngest girl by the waist.
“You smell pretty today.” He smiled coldly.
Macy tried to withdraw and relaxed when she saw Joulutonttu upright himself. “It’s the bread,” she said, distracting him.
She led the soldier to the communal kitchen where the massive beehive hearth burned. She showed him loaves, opened the large oven door —
They later told their men that Joulutonttu protected them. But it was Macy who shoved the Russian in the oven.
you are such a hardy bunch way up there in the u.p., it makes us downstaters seem like wimps. how wonderful that you discovered the gnomes!
Part of what makes this a close-knit community is that we are all suffering snow togerther, Beth!
[…] This was written with the prompt garden gnome provided by the Carrot Ranch December 12 Flash Fiction Challenge. […]
Here’s mine: https://jedigirlblog.wordpress.com/2019/12/13/the-new-farm-hand-flash-fiction/
Thanks, Joanne!
Those gnomes in the picture are so cute!
Aren’t they adorable? I couldn’t get over all the cute gnomes at Cafe Rosetta, which prompted the prompt!
I liked the rye sense of humour, Charli. 😉
Clever, Doug! 🙂
Here’s mine. https://wordpress.com/post/sixcrookedhighwaysblog.wordpress.com/653
Your link is not working – it gets me to my own list of blogs…and asks me which one I want to start writing at. When I click on your name I can get to your blog… but even after going to all of your categories I saw nothing dated in December or related to Carrot Ranch.
I tried.
Odd because others have been able to read it and respond. I have just re-categorised it under Stories on my blog, Yry this link. https://sixcrookedhighwaysblog.wordpress.com/2019/12/14/a-gnome-of-my-own/
Doug take a look at the first link… the word /post/ is in it between .com and six… Maybe that was the issue? Thanks for the second link I found it and made a visit 🙂
I had the same problem; the second one worked, the first one didn’t, JP.
I think that when one copies the url from the post before it has been published … that’s what might/does happen.
With the rejigged link, your blog fires are burning, Doug. Well done.
Punny one.
You followed the rye humor, right onto the battlefield, Doug!
[…] hanging on the wall, which way the wind blows, The dog did & Carrot Ranch December 12, 2019, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a gnome. It can be a […]
Charlil,
While a bit wicked – I enjoyed your flash and the magic of the Joulutonttu, and the quick thinking of Macy!
I have tons of info and images at my post – and yes Gnome is a banking term… please visit there for my take on # 62 Gnome
uff dah or okay!
this was not a mistake; me
finding this treasure
A sunflower original watercolor painting by Marisol – I’d have to get that hanging on the wall soon. Luck it seems is all just a matter of which way the wind blows. I’d always believed that thirteen was a lucky number. Dawg had found me on such a Friday.
*Crash*
Byrd and Lucky looked at Dawg as if to say; “The dog did it” – The open box had been knocked over. Bubble wrap surrounded an odd shape. There was a fabric gnome holding a sunflower! Uff dah! …
©JP/dh
My flash is actually based on a story I heard, someone’s great-grandmother gave the shove. Great use of “uff dah” Jules! I used to hear that a lot in Minnesota. A banking term, eh?
We put on different faces when tasked with saving our family. The straighten our fore-parents especially women had to have!
So true!
You BLT sounds yummy, now I am hungry for one!
Mmm, I want another one! Think I need to bake some more sourdough and make some altered BLTs tomorrow, Tracey.
What time? 🙂
A reoccurring midnight snack, I’m thinking!
Loved your story about Macy and her SuperGnome, her protector. The Russian just got his just deserts, err bread. ~nan
Ha! Yes, he got his hearth-earned ending. And, amazingly enough, the event happened and the women were never found out. I think the Russians underestimated them.
Gnome On the Range
“Gee, Pal, why’s Shorty havin’ folks write about biology, you know, genetics an’ such? Or is genes the genre this time aroun’?”
“What?! Kid, ya might wanna check yer own pool. What crazy notions ya on about now?”
“Genes Pal. Genetics? Shorty wants us ta write about genomes this week.”
“Kid, it’s gnomes. Those little folk that live underground and guard the Earth’s treasures.”
“Oh. Huh. Pal, is Shorty a gnome? ‘Cause carrots are underground treasures. An’ while World Headquarters ain’t unnerground, it’s gonna be unnerneath all thet snow.”
“Shorty ain’t a gnome.”
“Mebbe Shorty’s her gnom de plume.”
“Gnom de plume.” (giggle!)
The gnome puns abound.
Ha! Yes, he got his hearth-earned ending. And, amazingly enough, the event happened and the women were never found out. I think the Russians underestimated them.
Recycle, repurpose, reuse, Kid. Shorty’s no gnome, but the little buggers do mess with her now and agin. I don’t mind, thet tale a Macy was amazing and worth revisitin.
Moral of the story, don’t be kicking Macy’s gnome or you’re gonna get baked.
Those two never fail to crack me up!
Thanks for saying so, Doc Ranger. They crack me up too but I sometimes worry about Shorty’s ranch with these two and their friends hanging about. Maybe she should hire a lawyer, run a disclaimer. They just showed up, don’t seem to be going away, and seem to think they live at Carrot Ranch. Crazy.
Hi Charli
This one is based on a true story
Guilty as chewed.
‘Who did it?’
The tail slunk between the back legs, the head hung low almost touching the floor.
The chewed plastic gnome glared down from the pelmet where it had been placed out of reach.
The original owner had come charging across the road to complain that our family pet had destroyed her favourite gnome, insisting on a replacement.
The swinging Big Ears now held court by the ornamental pond in her front garden but the dog knew that he was in the dog house if the gnome was drawn to his attention, and would retreat to his bed.
I can sure see that guilty dog. Sad as a dog without a gnome.
The dog lived to be 17, so had a good life, bless him.
Hi Di! Good to see you, and with a tail-wagging (or perhaps a tail-tucking) BOTS. I can just picture the guilty dog and the upset neighbor. Dogs and gnomes have an uneasy relationship.
Hi Charli! The gnome sat on that pelmet for 6 years. I think the dog was relieved it didn’t move when we did! LOL
Ha! I bet he was relieved!
[…] was written for Carrot Ranch’s Flash Fiction Challenge. Each week’s challenge is to write to a prompt in exactly 99 words. This week’s prompt […]
I like that Macy. if the Russian didn’t deserve it yet, he was about to. Better to get him first.
Here’s mine:
https://nobbinblog.wordpress.com/2019/12/13/flash-fiction-late-again/
He was up to no good and wanted more than fresh bread. Those Finn women have sisu! And no beards! 😉
Unable to find my inner Gnome, it is obvious that gnome matter how far I try to stray from humanity. Genome is not “Gee, Gnome,” nor is geometry G-nometry. Biology and science were never my forte, nor did I like magic kingdoms re-imagined in an attempt to completely obliterate reality.
I’ll have to forego writing 99 words about anyone who is Gnome mad, gnome matter what others think of my obvious disdain.
The world is frightening enough without inventing dragons, gnomes, demons, and goblins. I’m reminded of that every time I look in the mirror and see my mother.
Great piece of gnomic relief, although unlikely to be appreciated in Zurich. 😏
Not a gnomadic state, I take it? 😀
Pun attack!! 😀
Yep. It just felt so…write. 🙂
😀
Yes, quite punny. I enjoyed the gnomenclature. You’ve dwarfed my efforts.
Fun with words. 🙂
What do you call a gnome living in New York City? A metro-gnome. Is that not muse-sick to your ears?
What pun-ishment! I love puns actually. Keep them coming.
Gnome matter how serious I try to be around here, lawn gnomes pop up with all kinds of silly gnomenclature! Fun writing, Joelle, and I like where you drove it to that final line.
Thanks. 🙂
[…] Author’s Notes: It’s a Friday. It’s a story. Call it Friday Fact or Fiction. Some stories will be 100% fact (or close to it) while others will be 100% fiction. Most will be a little bit of both. You, the reader, can delight in speculating where the story belongs. Today’s entry is in a category known as flash fiction. There are many other names (micro, mini, nano, etc) and a variety of different lengths (one-word stories, six-word stories, 12-word stories, 100 words, 500 words.) Carrot Ranch is a dynamic online literary community for those practicing their craft, reading stories and discussing the process. Charlie Mills hosts the weekly Flash Fiction challenge which limits stories to 99 words – no more, no less. This week’s challenge is to write with the prompt of “gnomes.” […]
Thanks, Donna! I see the puns continue!
[…] week on the Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction Challenge by Charli Mills we were tasked on writing a story about a garden gnome or gnomes…mine is loosely based on an […]
[…] week on the Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction Challenge by Charli Mills we were tasked on writing a story about a garden gnome or gnomes…mine is loosely based on an […]
Thanks, Sally!
No One Gnome
Tripped.
What a footfall flouncer, I am.
Mouth full of mud and December grass.
Splayed!
Besotted!
Is this my yard?
Or Walkers?
Whadda ya know!
Chumpski!
Keerist!
Damn Gnome.
Gawd, were we looped last Labor Day.
Walker hyperventilating.
“He knows.”
“Knows what?”
“What I’m thinking, man.”
“Who?” I asked.
“The Gnome,” he pointed. “Chumpski.”
“You’re nuts. He’s made of clay.”
“Clay! Crud! Whatever. He’s got my number.”
Crapola, eh. And now I’m belly flopped, gazing up into Chumpski’s terracotta eyes.
Something nasty is in the works.
“Bugger off, creep,” I yell.
Chumpski keeps staring away like a crazy anarchist.
http://www.engleson.ca
Tripped alright. Those terra-cotta eyes are freakin me out.
Those gnomes will get ya! Crazy anarchists. 😀 You pounced on the fun, Bill.
[…] Count: 99Inspiration: GnomeFor Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction […]
Thanks, Kelley!
that turned kind of dark pretty quickly! 🙂
It must be the strain of all my coursework, Jim. Glad everyone else is having more gnome fun than the Russian soldier.
Hi Charli
I enjoy your blogs for many reasons, and one of them is that I often end up learning something new.
In search of FF ideas:
This time: I found “gnome homes” in Michigan!
“The homes are commonly referred to as gnome homes, mushroom houses, or Hobbit houses”.
built by Earl A. Young ( 1889 – 1975) — an American architectural designer who designed and built 31 homes in Charlevoix, Michigan
” Young’s goal was to show that a small stone house could be as impressive as a castle. Young also helped make Charlevoix the busy, summer resort town that it is today”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Young_(architect)
Thanks!
Saifun
The learning continues, Saifun! I didn’t know about the gnome homes in Charlevoix. Those are so cute!
[…] Carrot Ranch Prompt (12/12/2019): In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a gnome. It can be a garden gnome, a Christmas Joulutonttu, a nissen, or a sauna protector. You can write magical realism, or feature contemporary gnome-like products. Go where the prompt leads! […]
Happy Holidays, and may we find time to breath and bless our loved ones, and embrace our creativity.
Gnomes be on the mind–in my background we call them Nisse. I’ve combined prompts from 3 different writing groups. I leave the 99-word version here, but please visit the link [here ] for an extended short that folds in my home town into the tale.
Take a Chance, Change Your Life
We’d answered the ad thumb-tacked to the corkboard at the neighborhood bar.
“Caretakers wanted, unoccupied mansion, rent dirt-cheap, duties minimal. Help us keep the riff-raff out! RSVP P.O. 9999NO 55101”
We were desperate, floundering through graduate school, and flat broke.
“Heaven sent,” noted Evan, so we took a chance.
We weren’t the sole tenants. Enter Lillehans, Gerta, and Nikko, who safeguard the grounds for a bowl of piping-hot Rømmegrøt with cream, a spoonful of lingonberries, and the occasional craft beer. Nisse make good partners, as long as you keep your promises.
It was the best job we’ve ever had.
God Jul!! <3 <3
What a wonderful image of nisse hanging out with the grad student, Liz. Craft beer would be a great attribute in a home gnome. I feel a bit like the Keweenaw is a Nordic twilight zone — extra vowels and Scandanivian-like-but-not.
The line is thin between the Norse and the Finn… 😉
[…] Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction December 12, 2019, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a gnome. It can be a […]
I had so much fun with this! Thanks, Charli. <3
Danica felt the presence of the domovoi in the kitchen. Flour covered the floor and the table.
“Did you make this mess?”
“Da,” a small voice answered.
“Don’t you want to celebrate the winter solstice?
Dusa was her home’s guardian, and he often helped her with household chores.
“I was afraid you forgot me.”
“I never forget you. Come, have some honey cakes. That will sweeten your mood.”
Dusa gobbled up the treats. With a snap of his fingers, the mess disappeared.
Always remember to take care of your house fairy and not neglect them. Especially during the holidays.
Do dust bunnies count as house fairies?
LOL! 🤣🤣🤣🐇
Yes.
I’m so glad you had fun with this one, Colleen! I’d sweeten the mood of my house gnome two if it meant cleaning done in a snap of fingers!
Right? I have some tile floors that need dusting! LOL! <3
Perfect for a gnome’s reach!
Gnome Alone
I’d spent ten and a half years with my head in the mulch when Annie found me. Mrs. Dulvey had set me in her garden in the late seventies—right near the gardenia that somehow survived all those snows.
Over the years we were like soilmates. Mrs. Dulvey had a lot to say, not that her family cared to hear it. After she died, some neighborhood kids kicked my head clean off its spring. Years later Annie came along and gave me a new perspective on life.
Annie has much to say, not that her parents care to listen.
Cool. Sounds as if this gnome is available to who needs him. (Soilmates.. what’s next, a gardening angel?)
There is an awful lot of writer-farmers growing fields of punkins here…
Sure, I guess. I kind of liked soilmates
I could do with some soilmates right now, but ours is almost liquid. Maybe it will wash up a gnome.
Annie and her new gnome value one another in a world that is often uncaring and leaves us isolated. Great title!
Hero
Instead of a horse, the little bearded man named Harry rode a wildebeest he had recently purchased. He had been granted an audience with the ruling monarch, who raised a sword to each of his shoulders. It was unusual to have an American granted such an honor, but his bravery warranted it. He was armed with only a utensil that sliced through the toughest meat.
The newspaper article said it the best:
Harry, a hairy gnome from Nome riding his new gnu, kneeled, and then was knighted by the king. It was said his weapon was a steak knife.
Nancy Brady, 2019
A genuine good gnus story.
Delightful…and brilliantly gnuanced…
I gnow we’re gnot supposed to be jealous… but dang yer out punning me- I’ve resorted to bad spellingn
Yay, what a fun flash, Nancy. And somehow wildebeest always make me smile.
How fun is this, Nan! Perfectly heroic, charming and playful.
Sorry you’re battling the health care system again, Charli. Won’t be long before ours is just as bad, albeit with less snow. And I agree with your literary analysis: it’s all about tension, wherever that comes from and in whatever form. I LOVE your flash, mine’s about a gnome with a harder shell, but he’s soft inside, like many of us in the UK still hurting from our shock election result.
Drastic solutions to infertility: The Testaments & One Part Woman https://annegoodwin.weebly.com/1/post/2019/12/drastic-solutions-to-infertility-the-testaments-one-part-woman.html
This time we have the healthcare professionals on our side, Anne. I truly hope the system implodes before it spreads elsewhere. Tension in real life is not good for healing or health. My condolences to the UK as we in the US experience impeachment day. A couple of powerhouse books you are reviewing this week.
Must make it easier with the healthcare staff on your side, although they can often feel equally helpless. A documentary was screened this week – actually postponed from an earlier scheduling because of the election – showing the NHS is under threat from privatisation. I didn’t watch it as I imagined much would be familiar, the rot began way back when I was working in the system. But there was a lot of consternation and told-you-so on Twitter afterwards.
It’s great that the impeachment is going ahead but I have a sense, and it’s certainly the case here, that the more the opposition resorts to legal processes the more the mob cries foul. I feel things are going to get an awful lot worse before they get better.
Wow! So cold over there, Charli. I don’t know how you all do it. And the thought of a sauna holds no enticement for me. I live in a sauna. At least it seems that way at times. We’re in a heatwave over here with dreadful bushfires devastating large tracts of land and homes. The thought of jumping from a sauna into the snow also has no appeal. Life is so different for so many of us. However, I do have a little Finnish gnome on my shelf, brought back from Finland for me by my niece a few years ago. He is very cute and I have taken a photo for my post.
It’s interesting to hear your thoughts about your WIP and new developments in your thinking about plotting and pantsing. I’m pleased you are finding your studies beneficial.
I really enjoyed your flash. While I wouldn’t/shouldn’t wish harm to anyone, it seems a fitting end to someone who would harm others, in fiction at least.
In my story, the gnome decides a growth mindset may not always be advantageous. It’s not published yet, but this is the link for when it is: https://wp.me/p3O5Jj-1zc.
Just Right
Longing for height, Gnomie joined Santa’s queue in the mall. Unfortunately, the queue hardly moved, and people grumbled when the air became hot and still. Elves demanded everyone disperse. Gnomie didn’t want to disperse. He wanted to be tall. Elves spotted him approaching Santa. “Hey! You there!” He froze. Santa glared, then said, “He looks about right.” The elves quickly explained — in the heat, Santa’s ring had slipped off and into the air conditioner, jamming the controls. No one could reach it. “I can!” said Gnomie, and he did. Elves cheered; Santa smiled, and Gnomie contemplated a new request.
Not so cold (ask Liz about cold — she’s in Minnesota). Just snowy! But I suppose snowy is cold enough for you. Sauna temps outdoors get to me. I wouldn’t lose my ring; instead, my fingers would swell. I’m so sorry to hear about the brush fires, though. It sounds like the nightmare facing so many in California.
I spotted the growth mindset of Gnomie! I wonder what his new request will be.
It sounds cold to me, Charli. The fires continue over here but, thankfully, there’s been a reprieve for some. I am grateful to not be in the line of fire.
I think Gnomie may welcome a new sense of satisfaction with self. 🙂
[…] This week at the Carrot Ranch, Charli Mills challenged writers to in 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a gnome. It can be a garden gnome, a Christmas J… […]
Charli, I had not heard of the Fins using a sauna instead of showers, but it does make sense. It’s cold here in western NY and having a good sweat then jumping in the snow sounds like a good idea, especially behind our privacy fence! I have a friend who loves gnomes so when I found gnome fabric she got a quilt. My flash this week is totally fiction…baby steps. Thanks for leading.
The Neighbor Boy Noticed
Mrs. Borden looked at the clock. Nine-thirty. She used to get out to her garden at seven-thirty. She opened the back door and held the jam and knob to steady her way down the two steps then tottered to her small garden that she couldn’t convince herself to give up just yet. A very large ceramic gnome with a mischievous grin waited. The sign hanging around his neck said, “Weeding done.” Her mouth fell open and one tear slid down her cheek. Who would do such a thing?
The local scout troop made a game of not getting caught.
Small acts of kindness being the greatest!
That’s a big baby step! Well done.
Thanks Dede,
Sue, we don’t have privacy fences — just privacy walls of snow! Tonight, I fell in love with my first gnome and he is now home with me. I like the tender twist of kindness in your story!
[…] by this prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a gnome. It can be a garden gnome, a Christmas […]
This was a really fun prompt to do. Here’s my story:
https://elderberrytea.wordpress.com/2019/12/17/the-fairy-garden/
Lovely fairy names like characters out of Shakespeare! <3
Thanks! I took time to decide on the names and choosing them was really fun.
You done good!
The fun is evident! Thanks, Nicole!
Gnome in the Bucket
By Ann Edall-Robson
The old chicken coop had become the catch all for everything that ‘might be needed’. Why Mac had picked Hanna to clean it out was something the dust covered young woman didn’t understand.
His one request, “Keep an eye out for anything Liz can use for flowerpots.”
Setting aside some dented, handleless buckets, Hanna spotted a garden gnome in one of them. It wasn’t a normal garden store variety, this one had a look about it that was oddly familiar. She hadn’t seen the little statue before, or had she? Hanna shivered.
“Maybe Liz will know something about this.”
https://www.annedallrobson.com/99-words/gnome-in-a-bucket
I like the hint of mystery in this one, Ann. And, that chicken coop is a familiar catch-all!
There’s nothing like a gnome to add intrigue.
[…] This was written with the prompt gnome provided by the Carrot Ranch December 12 Flash Fiction Challenge. […]
Here’s a second one: https://jedigirlblog.wordpress.com/2019/12/18/gnome-help-flash-fiction/
Gnome on a roll! Oh, wait — writer on a roll!