Photo Prompt, Short Story, Writing Prompts

The Message

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Sadje’s “What Do You See”
Here’s where the prompt photos took me.

© Rafael Garcin @ Unsplash

The old ship had no name anymore. The sailors who knew it had long since gone to the deep, and the wood had turned to dust.

But every evening, at the exact moment the sun bled into the sea, it appeared on the horizon …. just long enough to be seen, just long enough to matter.

© Zachary Kadolph@ Unsplash

Poppy was four years old and already knew things that couldn’t be explained. Tonight she had slipped out of bed, padded downstairs in her nightgown, and picked up her mother’s phone. She didn’t want to play a game or watch a video.

She just held it, and the screen lit up on its own.

There was no app,  no photo .… just a soft, pulsing glow …. and somehow, in that glow, she could feel the salt air. The creak of rope. The roll of dark water under an orange sky.

Her great-great-grandmother, the story went, had sailed away on a ship like that. A real one. And never returned.

Poppy looked up toward the window. The stars twinkled.

Out on the water, for just a moment, a lantern flickered.

Image by Me & Leonardo

NAR©2026
#WDYS

This is “Come Sail Away” by Styx

What do you see # 334- 30 March, 2026

Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.

29 thoughts on “The Message”

  1. Vivid imagery in those lines, Nancy! Perfect! 🙂 And BTW, Styx was the first concert I went to – the Babe tour back in 1979, I think. I was 16 and with a much older boyfriend. 🙂 That video brings back so many memories! ❤

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    1. Oh my gosh, Susi …. what great memories! STYX is one group I never got to see in concert; I bet they were fantastic. I love the little teaser you left about your much older boyfriend! More to follow? Thanks so much for a great comment. ❤️

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      1. I was fortunate to have seen them twice, the last time a couple of years ago. lol His name was Pat and he was 21, if I remember correctly. Back then it was normal, but reflecting on it now – kinda creepy actually.

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  2. Pingback: WDYS # 334- A roundup post – Keep it alive

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