‘Poppy, don’t touch!’
Annabelle shouldn’t have shouted – everyone’s giving her the what’s wrong with her look.
‘Come here, darling.’
If she’d let Poppy touch the flowers, there would be no argument. Parenting could be so easy… She’ll have to bribe Poppy away from the park with ice-cream.
‘Looking is okay, but you mustn’t touch. Remember? They’re evil.’
‘Other children touch them and their mummies let them.’
‘That’s because they’re not botanists. They can’t tell those flowers aren’t pretty daisies.’
Flowers that make people weak-willed and suggestible. Flowers that didn’t originate on Earth. Flowers that … the thought’s too bleak to finish.
***
This is my contribution to this week’s Moral Mondays.
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Very cool take Sonya. Enjoyed the piece.
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Thank you, Amanda!
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Cool twist on the prompt. And boy, Poppy is lucky that mom’s a botanist. But what will happen when everyone else stupidly touches the not-daisies? I see trouble ahead!
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Yes, me, too. Thanks Joy 🙂
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What a creative, clearly-written narrative! So much to think about after the end. Thank you!
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Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
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You always manage to paint such vivid images and pull the reader straight into the story in such a few number of words. Great!
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Thanks so much, Natasha!
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Knowledge is power. And with great power comes great responsibility. Shouldn’t she have warned everyone else though?
But wow – awesome piece 😀
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They wouldn’t believe her and think she’s a nutcase… Thank you 🙂
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Genius is always misunderstood. 😦
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Ooh very ominous. I love the idea of evil alien flowers. This could definitely be a SyFy movie (but a good one 😉 ) By the way, I love that the daughter’s name is Poppy!
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Ooh, missed this til I saw Nortina’s round up. Nicely done, there! Creepy, creepy thought – extra-terrestrial plants thank can control your mind? Great idea 🙂
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Thanks, Lynn! No idea how I got that idea, but Nortina’s prompts have a habit of popping whole stories into my head. It’s great 🙂
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Yes, I do like them. Nice to have a mix of photo and word prompts to stimulate the imagination 🙂
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