FF – On the Thoughts of Trees
Here is my story for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle. This week’s photo was contributed by Ted Strutz.
Work is mad but I spent the end of my lunch break hammering out a little story. Well, not really a story. It’s a bit weird as you can probably tell from the title. Hey ho.
Here goes 🙂
Copyright Ted Strutz
What am I doing out here? would be a sensible question for a chair in this situation to ask, if a chair could ask such a question.
I wonder where all the people have gone? might be a reasonable thought for a chair, if a chair could think reasonable thoughts.
Maybe it had been left here as a prank, back when there were pranks, and kids to play them?
These questions are best left to the trees, ancient and indomitable, thinking thoughts lasting decades. And after all those decades of a world without humans, they reach the same conclusion.
Peace at last.
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draliman on life 
Weird is good! ☺
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Thanks! I’m glad you liked it 🙂
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Peace at last? Hogwash! Your story mentioned nothing about it being a world without squirrels. Though the squirrels won’t make chairs or toilet paper out of them…
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The squirrels live in harmony with nature! And whatnot.
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That’s what those silly humans always thought. Now we’ll see if Mother Nature is also that naive to their nefarious takeover plans….
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Bwahahaha…
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Yes, the world would be much more peaceful without us around. 😉
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It would be all just tweeting birds and whatnot.
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This is my kind of story, like it.
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Thanks, I’m glad!
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“I agree with trees!”, says the tree-hugging mermaid. 🙂
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It’s hard to argue with them 🙂
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The trees are wise…
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And finally left to grow and flourish 🙂
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Of course the trees think very slowly, don’t they. So it takes them about 400 years to have these thoughts
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But they get there in the end, and there’s no longer any rush.
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Hey ho indeed. This is a delightful tale. I love the idea of the world being left to the trees and one random chair. (Sans squirrels.)
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It would be a quieter, more relaxed place. I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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Me too Alicia!
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Cor…that’s very deep D-man. Great story 🙂
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Thanks! Not like me at all 🙂
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you should do it more often 😉
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Hard to disagree. We are a disruptive influence. Noisy, messy, destructive. Clearly a pest without which the world might well be better off.
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It would certainly be all nice and green and idyllic.
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i’m afraid that’s the future we’re facing. 😦
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It could well be 😦
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Of course, the chair used to be a tree. Bet it’s wishing it were still a tree now!
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If only the humans had disappeared before it had been chopped down 😦
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True. I guess someone has to be the last, unlucky chair. I hope his former tree friends who are still trees are extra nice to him, considering. 😉
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Me too 🙂
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This has a lovely sense of peace and yet carries a darker message. Damn good story for something that was hammered out at the end of your lunch break! I’m guessing it was sitting in there waiting to be told and just needed the right prompt
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Yes, it’s probably been in there all along 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it! It does a mix of tranquillity and the possible extermination of the human race.
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All I can say, Ali, is this was brilliant. Prompts are difficult enough to write stories to, but yours made a lot of sense. Perfectly integrated. Super-duper!
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Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it! It’s so different to my usual I wasn’t sure if it was any good or not 🙂
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No, it was just fine! 🙂
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Thanks 🙂
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Very reflective, philosophical almost. You can certainly ring the changes.
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Not my usual thing but it’s nice to try something different once in a while.
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Looks like it would be a great place to meditate and read a book..away from the hustle of life
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It would for sure. It’s certainly the kind of setting I enjoy 🙂
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Yeah agree. Sometimes just want a place like that to go to… in order to get away from the modern world.
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I’m lucky that I live pretty much in the country 🙂
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Dear Ali,
You took me in one direction and then turned it in a very different direction. Evocative and clever.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
It was very rushed and not my usual genre, so I’m glad it worked!
Ali
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I can understand how the trees would feel that way. Sometimes I wish all my human neighbors would go away, leaving me to only hear the whispers of the trees. And the chatter of squirrels. 😀
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And you do get a lot of squirrels round your way. You can probably speak squirrel by now 🙂
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I have chairs that look just like that, from the 80’s. 🙂
Great story, us humans are annoying. LOL
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We can be 🙂
They really knew how to make chairs back then, when I were a kid…
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Yes, way back when…
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Killer last line. The new regime in the states is racing towards destroying all of our wild spaces. So maybe even the trees won’t be around at the end of mankind.
Feeling pessimistic,
Tracey
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I think they might be looking at something like that here too, given the lack of housing 😦
I’m glad you liked my story!
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I like thinking chairs 🙂
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They think the best thoughts 🙂
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I have often thought the planet would be better off without the human race, but I would prefer it to wait a while before ridding itself of humans! I love this story. Great take on the prompt.
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Maybe a little bit longer to see if we can “turn things around” would be nice 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed my story!
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I thoroughly enjoyed this creative story.
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Thanks, I’m glad you liked it!
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It sounds peaceful to me. I’d like to chill with some trees. Nice one, Ali.
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Thanks! It would be very relaxing, I think.
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Great story, Draliman. The trees are very wise, but so is the wooden chair, if you ask me 😀 Pawkisses for a Happy Weekend 🙂 ❤
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Trees are always wise, especially the old ones 🙂
Happy weekend to you too!
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Oooo, I love it. The first part really reminded me of a Douglas Adams novel, very Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (with the chair wondering how it came to be out on a lake).
I love the ending too, peace at last!
Great story, very entertaining 🙂
-Rachel
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Yes, just like that poor whale who popped out of nowhere thanks to the infinite Improbability Drive 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
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Crazy take. Presumably there were no beavers left either, I can’t see the chair lasting long f there were
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The beavers are on their way. The chair’s days are numbered.
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A great story that holds so many ideas, all nicely wrapped in subtle humour. That chair’s thoughts are pretty sensible when we consider a world without humans. Peace at last covers it well. Love the description of the trees as ‘ancient and indomitable’.
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Thanks, I’m glad you liked it! It’s certainly more peaceful and idyllic now that we’ve gone.
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The world would definitely be a far more peaceful place without humans in it. A wonderfully thoughtful post, Ali. 🙂
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Just think of the peace and quiet 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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I wondered about that chair too.
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And it’s wondering back 🙂
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Very nice!
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Thanks!
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Always wonderful to read your little twists in the end☺☺
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I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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☺☺
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Splendid piece.
Isn’t it awful that a tree was killed to make this chair. What the forest thinks of it, I wonder?
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Its probably best there aren’t any humans left to feel the wrath of the forest.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
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Great story, as always.
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