For this weeks Flash! Friday we had to incorporate Aspiration into a story about the following prompt:
Whetting Interrupted, 1894. Public domain painting by Jose Ferraz de Almeida Junior.
Timber
It’s another beautiful day in the forest. I can hear the birds all around me, chirping hopefully, looking for a mate. Perhaps I will see them in the spring when they build their nests.
The sun warms my dark limbs. Years of exposure have left my skin tough and wrinkled. No-one notices though, I blend in seamlessly with the crowd. We all look the same, especially to the outsiders. In their defence most of us are related, we don’t stray very far. This place is our home, our roots are here. There’s plenty to go around, no reason to leave.
The afternoon heat intensifies, so I take a drink from the river. The sunlight fills me with energy and a renewed sense of hope. I need to stretch out before I hunker down for winter. I reach my fingers to the heavens with a deep groan.
The noise attracts the wrong kind of attention. An outsider stalks towards me, holding an axe that gleams with menace. I stand perfectly still, holding my breath. Perhaps he won’t notice me, won’t choose me as his sacrifice. He looks up at me with a smile before the axe bites into my trunk. Just like that, my time here is over. Timber.
