Image by Melanie Greenwood at https://thisismycorn.wordpress.com
grandad tells the most marvellous stories
never know whether to believe him
there’s this overgrown thicket
used to be a maze
what happened to it
local boy got stuck in the maze
he should’ve put his right hand on the hedge and kept walking
no he was stuck
chainsaw to cut him out
getting dark and his uncle panicked
cut a big hole in the hedge
let it grow over then
why didn’t they fix it
bad memories
but why were they bad
grandfather held me close and put his hand on my shoulder
the hand with the three fingers
(Check out Mr Binks and his funny #replyfiction to this piece here)
*********
Interested in meeting me in person… well, via webcam at least? On Friday 13th/Saturday 14th February I will be presenting at a free livestream at the Digital Writers Festival, talking about my ABC Open 500 word stories. Times are as follows:
– Sydney, Australia, 11am Saturday 14th February
– London, UK, midnight (Friday 13th night… sounds spooky!)
– New York, USA, 7pm Friday 13th February
– Los Angeles, USA, 4pm Friday 13th February
For more information about the session, click here.
Follow @jessieansons**************
Friday Fictioneers is a challenge set by Rochelle Fields where writers around the world create 100 word stories inspired by the one image. For more information follow this link.
Jessie Ansons 
Oh boy! Am I glad I didn’t read the tale at night! 🙂 Scary for the granddaughter.
Great story! Loved this. Well done.
Dear Jessica,
At least there’s one of Grandad’s stories we can believe. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
There’s some real black humour here. You could get Dylan (Bob – Thomas is dead) to sing this.
Pingback: Unbelievable Stories | me.you.coffee
Nicely told, Jessie.
And because you dared to challenge me, here is my reply.
https://meyoucoffee.wordpress.com/2015/02/04/unbelievable-stories/
Nothing’s like a three-finger scar to remind you of this.. at least it went better in your poem than in Out Out by Robert Frost.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/238122
Like the format — kinda like a brain dump. Well done!
very nice twist:)
I like the way you composed it, looks and reads chaotically pleasant.
Really loved the pace of this.
Grandfather’s tell the best stories, well mine used to do. Great job, well done.
That last line was just plain wicked. Loved how you wrote it. 🙂
Brilliantly written, that last line really tied it together. Made me shudder thinking of those three fingers.
Powerful. Bad memories indeed. This is great to read – I love how you’ve structured it.
Brilliant. That last line had me chuckling.
I found the style it was written in – no punctuation, separate lines like poetry a little confusing, in that I wasn’t sure if I was reading dialogue or thoughts… But still, really enjoyed it.
Cheers
KT
Well done. I like the cadence and the shared secret.
Creepy stuff, Jessie. I’m not sure if I would like this grandpa or be terrified of him. My family had plenty of stories about what happened to missing appendages, but none were quite this terrifying.
All my best,
Marie Gail
Dear Jessie, So Grandpa is missing fingers. Maybe next time – tie a helium balloon on the kid and you can see where he is – or make a call box for emergencies (like they have on the roads). Great story – wonderful! Nan 🙂
So Grandpa’s tales aren’t always tall. 🙂
Pingback: 10. Lord of the Flies – William Golding (100 book challenge) | Jessie Ansons
I liked your format on this piece. Clever… and a good story.