Story Pic No. 1 - 5

I take a lot of walks in my spare time. Thankfully, I live in a beautiful neighborhood of a fascinating city (Seattle), which I love to explore; so, whether it's to stretch my legs, gather my thoughts or simply just to get some fresh air, I spend a lot of time walking. I started writing these ‘Story Pic’ flash fiction pieces when—after some self-reflection—I realized that most of my new ideas for current WIPs manifested while I was on one of my walks. So, like any good American, I turned something natural that I did to relax into work. Below are the fruits of my endeavor, each story inspired by something that I came across while exploring and took a picture of (as one might infer from the series title). The stories were originally released weekly on my social media—where they are still available (@willowsfield)—spanning over four months of my rambling thoughts. Please enjoy, if you so choose.

—Willow J. Fields

“Park after Dark” Story Pic No. 1 — 2/3/22

I went to the park after dark. I felt a presence. I heard footsteps. There were people in the park, but it was not their presence, not the sound of their steps. It drew closer. My heart raced. I turned down a brightly lit path, but I could not stay in the light forever. It got me in the shadows. Don’t go to the park after dark.

“The Grove” Story Pic No. 2 — 2/10/22

The sapling was planted early in the morning. The elder trees welcomed the newcomer, the wind carrying their polite greetings from bow to twig.

“Who are you?” Asked the sapling.

“The grove,” answered the elder trees.

“Who am I?” Asked the sapling.

“You are one of us,” said the elder trees.

The sapling swayed, understanding. “What do we do?”

“We grow. Together.”

“Concrete Judgment” Story Pic No. 3 — 2/16/22

“You don’t belong here,” said the city as I walked its streets.

“But I have nowhere else to go,” I pleaded.

“Useless. What do you even do?” Snarled the impassive skyscrapers.

“Things. I try, at least…” I whimpered from a dark alley. The looming buildings closed in on all sides.

“Have you done any of the things you said you’d do? Have you finished any of the projects you said you’d finish?”

“No…” I curled into a ball, the concrete cold against my cheek.

“Then we have no time for you,” the city said and turned away, looking for someone new to give its attention.

“Only Us” Story Pic No. 4 — 2/24/2022

“No gods, no kings, only us. The world is a big place; yet, thanks to our struggles, it seems far too small now. Write that down.

“No gods, no kings, only our mistakes. And that’s just it, isn’t it? We are vain. Today we were offered a mirror but instead of seeing the whole we only saw the divisions. We saw those cracks and assumed we should just shatter the entire thing as a result. We are small, but we refused to see that as well. Write that down too, it’ll be on the test.”

“King of his Castle” Story Pic No. 5 — 3/3/2022

He’d done it. He’d captured the keep. He had cleared out the mobs and now the stone tower was his. Next, the entire kingdom. They’d all bow to him.

“Timmy, pause your game and walk the dog!” called his mom.

“Mom!” Timmy shouted. “You can’t pause online games!”

“I don’t care. Walk the dog,” came her rebuke.

Timmy breathed in, preparing the shrillest of retorts, and looked away from the screen. Then, a player higher level than Timmy strolled onto screen and killed him with one strike.

His mouth hung agape.

The advanced player crouched repeatedly over Timmy’s prone body and typed, “Go walk your dog, Timmy. And turn off your mic.”