Fisherman’s twine, a bottle-top, seashells, a smooth pebble, a knobbly rock. The treasures in Granddad’s cabinet were as the man himself – surprising, various, and chosen with love. These were his treasure chest and his story book.
Heaving myself up onto the stool, I gazed. Though I’d seen the cabinet before, the contents changed with time, a bit like Granddad’s memories.
“What are these?” I asked, reaching for a stack of coins.
“Arrr,” he said, a protective arm drawing me down with the coins to his lap. “Arrr, Jim lad. Them I got when we took a Spanish galleon.”
Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here
Neil MacDonald Author 
Dear Neil,
…the contents changed with time, a bit like Granddad’s memory. I love that line and Granddad. You managed to say a lot between the lines. Nicely layered story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks, Rochelle
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Love it. You say so much in just a few words and make grandad come alive. Brilliant.
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Thanks so much, Derek
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I smelt the sea air, loved your story.
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Thanks, Mike
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Love the relationship created between him and his Granddad, he sounds like a great Granddad to have! Nice.
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Thanks, Iain
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I like the sound of this Granddad, and I love how he used the pieces for his ‘story book’. A great way of putting it.
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Thanks Claire. I worried that this might be a little sentimental. Ack, I abhor sentimentality
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The story was rife with affection, not sentimentality. Loved it.
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Thanks for the reassurance, Sandra
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Liked this a lot. You get the feeling that a tall tall tale is about to spool forth.
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So tall you’d need a beanstalk to scale it
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Loved it! Seems the same muse visited us this week. You managed to add so many layers in just 100 words.
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Thanks so much
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Great imagery, Neil.
Is granddad’s real name Pinocchio?
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A distinctly snub-nosed character. Perhaps from his youth as a fairground pugilist. That was, of course, before he became a secret agent.
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You tell us so much about Granddad in so few words. I loved the idea of his collection being a storybook of his life.
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Thanks, Clare
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loved this. great writing
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Thanks so much
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Lovely tale Neil. Love the idea of Grandad telling tall tales of the seas, pirating and the ocean wave and his grandchild lapping it up. My take was similar, but written before I saw yours, honestly 🙂
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Thanks Lynn. We did both have the same response to the prompt didn’t we? I loved your Nana and especially I loved how the granddaughter’s imagination took over
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Thank you Neil. Yes, a great photo that took us all over the place. Perfect for FF. Thanks for reading 🙂
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Somehow I could feel the warmth of Granddad’s lap and perhaps smell pipe smoke in his clothes.
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Definitely pipesmoke, how did you know?
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Your tender story is a touching tale of the relationship between grandfather and grandson.
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Glad you liked it
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“Arr,” I love it.
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Thanks so much
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Thanks for this little glimpse into a family. Love it.
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Thanks, Tracey
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After “knobbly rock” it couldn’t get any better. Great description.
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Thanks, Paul
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Wish that we had more such relationships in the world, perhaps life won’t seem so scary.
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Thanks so much
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Ah now I see exactly what you were referring to in your comment on mine. We’ve arrived at the same theme, even story. I promise you I never read others before writing my own for fear of undue influence, so this is a coincidence which must go back to our perceived psyche of the young and old.
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You’ll see others have found the same story too. It happens each week that there are repeating themes. The phenomenon would merit a PhD study
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A story for every treasure. Just not always the same story!
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Never the same story
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I like how Granddad’s memories change with time. That’s such a resonant point.
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Memories of memories, receding down a hall of mirrors
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Love it! There’s a Grandad in my story too, so I shall now move on and see how many others went the same route 🙂
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A lot.
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What a great story book theme! Loved this, Neil!
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Thanks, Dale
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Ooooooo a grandpa pirate! Love it. Would love to hear the story me hearty
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I could almost see his eye patch, great lines in there 🙂
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Thanks, Helen
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So enriching to a child, having a granddad like that, who has all the time in the world to chill-out and chat, and who believes in imagination-land.
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They’re few and far between
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I do love how you used the storybook to tell that warm story of a caring grandfather – might not be memories at all 🙂
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Thanks, Bjorn
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Great character sketch. And Granddad knows the truth is so overrated! Loved it.
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Thanks so much
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What a wonderful granddad to have. Lovely story.
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Thanks so much
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wonderful!
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Thanks, Samantha
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The story evokes the affection the grandson has for grandpa. This line was excellent: “the contents changed with time, a bit like Granddad’s memories.”
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Thanks so much
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Really very well done. My favorite response to the prompt so far!
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Wow! Thanks so much
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Granddad’s stories are the best!
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Thanks, Dawn
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that was so vividly described I could visualise every word 🙂 Loved it 🙂
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Thanks so much
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Those are the memories we hope our grandkids will remember about us.
Lovingly told ….
Isadora 😎
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Thanks, Isadora
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great story, my post too refers to the grandfather but in a different way
http://obliqview.blogspot.in/2016/10/the-spoils-prompt-clairefuller-every.html
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Thanks. It seems like quite a number of us saw grandparents in the prompt
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“Just like Granddad’s memories” – great story and nice details to show the loving relationship between these two!
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Thanks, Emily
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Don’t you just love Granddad’s. I was waiting for the shaggy dog story. Great write😇
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Thanks, Ellen
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Most Welcome😇
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They say great minds think alike, but I’d say yours is greater. There’s so much here in so few words
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There are memes that run through our little community. We all handle them differently, not necessarily better or worse
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