Sunday Photo Fiction is a weekly challenge presented by my old friend Al Forbes.
The idea is to write a short story (200 word max) inspired by what you see in his photo (below).
Those of you who know him, or who follow his blog, will know that this is not his first pigeon picture.
In fact, his album must look like Trafalgar Square!
Click on this link to enter your tale, and see what others have written.
Below is an example of what I call Sound Bite Fiction.
Copyright Al Forbes
Natural Balance
When the planet’s population reached 10 billion we came to an agreement with The Creator.
His involvement meant certain conditions were imposed, irrevocably, for eternity.
This was before the Apocalypse, when overcrowding was a significant issue.
The End War is now over.
Mankind is all but eliminated.
What remains of our communications systems allows us to make contact with other survivors.
There are 9 in New Zealand and 14 of us here on Victoria Island in the Canadian Arctic.
We heard a faint signal from Murmansk, which faded and disappeared.
So, to the best of our knowledge, there are 23 humans still alive.
And one of these, my daughter, is pregnant.
She will give birth any day now.
And this is why I am so concerned.
Because the deal with our maker was designed to maintain a natural balance.
So, when someone is born, one of us must die.
She is expecting twins.
Sound Bite Fiction 
I am thinking it would have been better if they sorted out their own problems. After all, they were the ones who created the mess.
Very different take on the prompt.
LikeLike
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Francesca.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fascinating tale. Nice one. As an aside do you mean to take a new line after every sentence, or is that just the way your software formats it?
LikeLike
ps. Do you also post stories as AnElephantCant?
LikeLike
Who?
If that Pink Plonker doesn’t stay out of my way I will cut off his…
…peanuts.
LikeLike
Thanks, Paul, glad you liked it.
I do like to provoke a little thought whenever possible.
Yes, it is very deliberate.
It is an integral element of what I call Sound Bite Fiction.
And thank you for asking.
Others have mentioned it in passing, but no one has ever posed the question.
LikeLike
Wow, what a scary scenario. This could happen in the future and what a dismal future it would be. Nan
LikeLike
Yes, Nan, if we do not screw the bobbin, as we say in Scotland, it does rather seem inevitable.
Apart from the agreement, of course!
LikeLike
Does not bode well for mankind. The price was extremely high from the Creator…then again, he did, once before, “clean the slate” so to speak with the great flood.
Sometimes I feel this sort of thing must happen to clean up the mess we’ve made of our humanity….and we’ll probably end ikup mucking thinigs up again anyway! Mind you, the rules appear to have changed. 23 is a dreadfully small number…
LikeLike
Ah, dear Dale, The Creator did not set a price, he reached an agreement at the request, and for the sake, of mankind.
The apocalypse was not his doing, but man’s.
Nice weekend?
LikeLiked by 1 person
True that.
Yes, it was. Nice and relaxing!
LikeLike
Clap, clap, clap. A great take! Enjoyable read.
LikeLike
Bows and doffs hat.
Thank you.
LikeLike
Well, one could argue that there is at least one spare place, if the poor soul(s) in Murmansk did not survive… Great story, I love the last line!
LikeLike
Glad you enjoyed, Constantine, and the last line, of course, was the link to the photo.
Twins.
And, while I admire your optimism, I doubt if The Creator’s interpretation of the agreement agrees with yours!
LikeLike
Rochelle said it all.
Mythic/epic theme and settings.
Great stuff
LikeLike
My dear Rochelle
I am flattered by, and very grateful for, your fulsome praise.
Apart from the twist in the tail, one of my aims in Sound Bite Fiction is to create a what if scenario.
A philosophical debate, if you like.
Apart from the narrator and the mother-to-be, there are potentially 12 others who know the situation.
How do they react?
Are they prepared to gamble their lives for the survival of the species?
And how can it survive, in any case?
Please share this reply with Emmy, above.
And thank you for your input.
LikeLike
Em,
Glad you enjoyed this.
As you are very aware, in SBF I often try to create a human dilemma.
Please feel free to respond to my reply to Rochelle, below.
I greatly appreciate your comments, thank you.
LikeLike
Dear C. e.,
Perhaps the Creator will be lenient with only twenty-three humans left on the planet. This is one of your all time best. In few words you wrote a novel and made me care about the characters. Beautifully written.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
My dear Rochelle
I am flattered by, and very grateful for, your fulsome praise.
Apart from the twist in the tail, one of my aims in Sound Bite Fiction is to create a what if scenario.
A philosophical debate, if you like.
Apart from the narrator and the mother-to-be, there are potentially 12 others who know the situation.
How do they react?
Are they prepared to gamble their lives for the survival of the species?
And how can it survive, in any case?
Please share this reply with Emmy, above.
And thank you for your input.
LikeLike
Done. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
OUCH! That’s not going to end well
LikeLike
Well, not for someone, or some two, it appears.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeedy.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on anelephantcant and commented:
AnElephantCant stop laughing at Al
His old chum must really love pigeons
He snaps them before
Maybe 50 times or more
Each time he sees one his trigger finger starts a-twitchin’
LikeLiked by 1 person