Our gracious host, Rochelle, is asking us to get
creative in 100 words or less using the photo
seen below. Welcome to Friday Fictioneers.
This is where the prompt took me.
She had carried the iron key for forty years, never knowing its purpose.
The garden found her, not the other way around. Vines parted. Rain fell sideways. The keyhole shimmered like held breath.
She stepped through.
Beyond: the same garden, but luminous. The birdbath overflowed with something gold. Stones hummed forgotten names. The dragon-faced guardians exhaled slowly, finally relieved of their long watch.
Her mother sat waiting beneath a younger sky.
“You took the scenic route,” her mother laughed.
Forty years and worth every step.
An ordinary door says enter. A keyhole says you were always meant to find this.
NAR©2026
100 Words
This is “Take The Long Way Home” by Supertramp
Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.
The Elephant's Trunk 