Friday Fictioneers – Seed Bank

~ neilmacdon
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PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

“That’s such a great idea,” Pfennig said. “A seed bank.”

And it was true. The metal shelves held hazelnuts, garlic cloves, and lumpy nodules I couldn’t identify.

We’d survive, Pfennig decided. Dig up the parks, plant the seeds, harvest our own food. When the soldiers at last removed the barriers around the city, they’d find us healthy and thriving. Then we’d walk out proudly into the sunshine of the new world.

He clapped me on the back, and I beamed with pride, unable to confess a squirrel had done the collecting. All I’d been gathering was graffiti.

 

Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here.

77 thoughts on “Friday Fictioneers – Seed Bank”

  2. We have a mythological story about a squirrel rolling in mud, and then shedding it on the bridge Lord Ram was building to reach Srilanka. His humble effort to help was recognised, and the petting by Ram is supposed to have given them the stripes. The gargantuan effort by your squirrel reminded me of that.

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  8. There’s subtlety to this tale, I think, a questioning as to how on earth mankind has managed to survive with our venal preoccupation for reputation, and our reliance on the natural world to provide for us without much input from us.
    And all done so light-heartedly! Kudos!

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  10. I feel for the squirrel who has lost it all, that’s another story. I wonder if the modern west would be able to adapt in such a way to sustain itself in a similar situation? No supermarkets!!

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  34. Squirrels are experts in collecting. That’s why I don’t have any daffodils this year. A naughty grey tree-rat dug them up and hid them, probably in somebody else’s garden! I love this story’s twist in the tale (tail).

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