The Keeper

Our gracious host, Rochelle, asks us to get
creative in 100 words or less using this photo
for inspiration. Welcome to Friday Fictioneers.

Every town needs one who keeps watch and says nothing.

He came before the swing sets, before the trees grew tall enough for shade. Children forget he’s only bronze. They climb through his ribs, slide down his belly, hang their small hands from his railing like old friends.

He does not blink; he does not need to. His smile is not just for today’s laughter but for the joyful versions of all the yesterdays and tomorrows, the ones that repeat every September, every recess, every dusk when the last child is called home and he is left, patiently keeping watch.

NAR©2026
100 Words

This is “I Will Wait” by Mumford & Sons

10 July 2026

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