Rochelle Wisoff-Fields – Friday Fictioneers – 9th March
Which Tree are You?

Photo by Sandra Crook
“Come tell me, Louise,” he said, pulling her from the water. “What happened to you?”
“Oh, Grandpa.” She laughed. “What a beautiful house, is it heaven?”
“For some. Such a dreadful war.”
‘Like you.”
“Yes. I was wounded at Sommesous. It broke her heart.” He ruffled Louise’s hair. “Ah, my Madam Lilly de Vogue and her hospital, our noble home.”
“My Grandma?”
“Yes. She saved many lives, but for every hero who died she planted a tree.”
“Is she here?”
“No, oh no.” He laughed. “She lives with her lovers in Marseille. I wish her well.”
“Which tree are you?”
“My tree is the Colonel Marcel Pinion de Vogue.” He took her hand. “Now Louise, what happened to you?”
“I couldn’t swim, Grandpa.”
Fantabulous.. 😎🥀😎🥀😎🥀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Strange little tale. Why is Louise in the water in the first place?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I wondered if a backstory was needed (restricted word count, I’ve gone over by about 30 words). Lets just say, Louise was playing amongst the stones, while her parents were in the building. She fell into the water and Grandpa met her in the afterlife. Her parents will find her body, but her soul is with Grandpa. How’s that for a bit of back tracking?
LikeLike
Delightfully different
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really like the gentle tone of your story, and the sense of time and place- poignant past, lovely grand- pa and Louise. Well told.
LikeLiked by 2 people
A charming ghostly tale, if there is an afterlife, I hope it’s like this.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh wonderful story!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A ghostly tale indeed. Looking forward to your 70 word story next week. (Rochelle keeps a tight control on credit at the work-bank.) 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Sandra, my goodness. I wasn’t aware of the penalty for overdoing it – generally in the past I have agonised over the word count. On this one I wanted to maintain the impact. I’ll have to prepare for the six word novel method.. Many thanks for reading.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautifully tragic. I loved it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely tale of the afterlife. Well done.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful story, James.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A fabulous moment in time. I loved the memory.
LikeLiked by 1 person
James! This is superb!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love ghostly conversations..good one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
lovely story. well done.
LikeLike
I like that the dialogue jumps a bit, like in reality.
Good story, pity about the word count.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ve written a delightful ghost story, with cheerful, chatty ghosts. Perhaps it’s the beautiful location.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m a bit slow this morning. Figured it out the second time through, enjoyed it immensely.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A ghostly reunion! Nicely done.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was such a clever story. Beautifully done.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh wow. One of my favorites. I read it again to absorb the pleasure of your creativity again!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was a wonderful and cleverly written story. I love an afterlife like this, where you know your ways and meet the ones who passed before you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a wonderful story. We often hope we meet with passed loved ones in heaven or where ever you believe you go and to read a conversation between grandpa and granddaughter was a delight. I don’t know that it mattered where she drowned although with the water there it could be assumed it happened there but the story of the hospital and the trees was lovely. So much in 100 words.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, crud. Beautiful story. I love the historical facts and the symbolism, but the last line just broke my heart. At least, her Grandfather is there to greet her.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll admit – I shed a tear writing this.
LikeLike
Fabulous bit of flash fiction James – the last line was simple and devastating.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Nik, the last line is the hammer blow.
LikeLiked by 1 person
U really loved this – loved how it began with him asking what happened and ended the same with such meaning 😃
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent microfiction!
LikeLiked by 1 person