MFtS — 7-20-15 The Year of Trials

“Mondays Finish the Story. This is a flash fiction challenge where we provide you with a new photo each week, and the first sentence of a story. Your challenge is to finish the story using 100-150 words, not including the sentence provided.”

Words: 160 + given 9

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“The petroglyphs told the story of an unusual event,” Announced the melancholy history teacher dryly, only part-way through his lesson. Already half the class of high schoolers were asleep. “The scholars believe,” the teacher monotoned, “that a farmer recorded this historic year in…”

Shawn scoots further down in his blue chair. He looks just as bored as his classmates. But HE isn’t sleeping. His mind is racing, the petroglyphs igniting his overactive imagination.

He is there beside the bare stone wall, tools in hand, as he listens to the farmer’s daughter as she tells of the terrible events. He begins to record the Year of Trials. A drought, a fire ignited by a dry lighting storm, the attack by wolves, and then the rain that would not end. She and four others were the only ones to survive; she was crying. Suddenly she hit him.

“Heeey, sorry maaan,” drawled Duke, “I didn’t mean to hit you with my baaag.”

Shawn quickly stuffed his backpack and shuffled after his classmates.

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