“Hey, Ma, come look at this.”
“One minute.”
I finished the transaction and grabbed the basket with a few jars of canned fruit and veggies.
We walked through the little booths and trucks that had gathered in the middle of the dusty plain. I only glanced at the goods and food on display. Some looked interesting, but I knew the basket would be my only purchase this month.
The truck Jimmy wanted to show me was at the edge, near the solar panels and charging stations.
I stopped.
“What are those?” Jimmy asked.
The tears came unbidden.
“Flowers,” I said.
***
word count = 100
Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. This week’s prompt is here and uses a photo by @ Jan Wayne Fields. If you want to join or see other stories, go to the inlinkz linkup.
Trent's World (the Blog) 
Poignant story. Hope it remains just that, a story
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Yes, I hope this stays safely in the realm of fiction!
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I teared up right along with Ma. My sympathy goes out to humans of the future :(
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I’m hoping that the future won’t be quite so bleak, but I am getting little reinforcement from the powers that be that anyone will change to avoid it…
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I hope this doesn’t ever become a reality!
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Me too!
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This one got me. Nicely done!
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Thanks!
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Oh no… I wouldn’t ever want to be part of such a world.
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Neither would I! I am such an outside person and need the greenery and flowers…
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Me too, Trent. Me too!
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A not too unrealistic view of a dystopian future. To be so separated from nature must hurt deeply.
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Hopefully we bypass a future like this!
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I can’t imagine a world without flowers! I hope for future generations this is not an accurate prediction!
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If there are only limited resources for food… I agree, I hope people see the need to feed the human spirit as well as bodies and we continue to see flowers, even if it gets as bleak as this story.
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Always love your work, Trent. Loved your take on the prompt. A bit futuristic, but not much, is how it grabbed me.
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Thanks. I guess it could be not too futuristic: It could be a near future in a place that already has limited resources for plant growth (Australian Outback?) where the resources are too scarce for planting anything but edible vegetation. Of course it might be a bit farther down the road than that, but, it’s all up to the way you see it :)
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Well done! It actually took me a while to figure out the story, but when I did, I really liked it.
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Simple story – a more realistic Mad Max ;) Thanks
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How stark! And how well done!
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Thanks!
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Sad to consider that flowers may be relegated…
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Relegated, or just very rare in the desolate corner of the world they are in (or perhaps the entire world at that time)
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If there is still food grown as plants, why not flowers? Interesting idea to ponder!
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Since you ask ;) It could be that they are using the limited arable land for survival, and flowers are a luxury (of course most crops have flowers, but…) Maybe there are plenty of flowers many, many miles away, but few make it across that perilous trade routes to their desolate place. Or perhaps there are no more plants and the only fruits and vegetables are in those rapidly diminishing jars…
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Some excellent possibilities in what seems to be a dire situation.
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Whichever way (and hopefully not the last!) it is a dire situation, but perhaps the flowers are sign that things may be brighter coming up…
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Sigh… We Are getting there, Trent!
Great write!
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It does seem that we are headed in this direction. Hopefully we can steer this big ship away from that fate… Thanks, Resa!
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A stark future beckons is all Trent 🤞
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A very stark future – let’s avoid this one!
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Yes indeed 💜
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I’m guessing this is a post-climate-apocalypse world
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Post-apocalypse, at any rate – it could be the aftermath of a long nuclear winter that kills most plants, or an asteroid that does the same, or climate change or…
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Let’s hope that’s a long way off, but the more of the world we pave over…
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A long way off, or better yet, never happens…
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Dear Trent,
Poignant story. How sad Jimmy didn’t know what flowers were. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Most beauty is long gone…
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Moving story.
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Thanks, Sadje
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You’re most welcome Trent
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Reblogged this on NEW BLOG HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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