Seems like just last week it was Friday and the Friday Fictioneers gathered to write 100-word flash fiction based on a photo prompt found over at Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ website. Here’s this week’s pic and my contribution. If you’d like to see the more of this week’s entries, check out this page.
“When You Rather Wish You Were Dreaming, Instead” (100 words)
A staircase wound sideways around the inside of the mollusk’s shell. Two high up (far back?) windows faced, Harmon supposed, the sun-drenched beach. Gravity was weird inside the shell, but certainly not the strangest thing about his day.
The strangest thing hadn’t even been meeting the mollusk, whose name, he’d been informed, was Erbert.
“Hi, I’m Erbert,” the mollusk said. Then: “Today, we’ll be discussing the importance of saving the world from an infestation of wombats.”
“Um,” Harmon said.
No, the strangest thing was that when he’d gone to bed last night, he’d been in Billings. Nowhere near a beach.
Distracted by the Shiny 
I see why this one begs for more. What do you envision for it? Not that you have to listen to me, but I’m thinking boy-centric Middle Grade. If you play your cards well, my kids could be downloading Mollusks vs. Wombats to play on their iPods! 😉
My inclination these days is towards absurdist fantasy and science fiction, a la Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the Discworld books–for instance, one that I’m working on right now has paratrooping zombie penguins–so that’s probably what will happen with this. I definitely like your idea of a game app for Mollusks vs Wombats. Heh.
You have a wonderful “Douglas Adams” way about you – I’m very jealous.
Thank you. I try. 🙂 Funny thing is, in comments on a short story I’ve submitted over at LitReactor, they’re saying I have shades of Gibson. Not sure who people will say my horror resembles, but if I combine all these people into one story, I’ll either have a masterpiece or a mess. Heh.
I’m waiting for Alice to show up–she and Erbert would definitely get along. Fun story.
If Alice does show up, she’ll be sporting a gatling gun, methinks. 🙂
Please don’t zombie the penguins! I love them and their waddling ways. I’ve been to Billings and this definitely isn’t there.!
janet
Well, as of yet they aren’t zombiefied, but I’ve created a xenonecrobiologist (“I study the biology of alien living dead things!”) that needs some specimens to examine.
Well that was weird. The strangest thing, was I had just given up reading a good tale – and then yours popped up!
Thanks,
Lindaura
Thanks, I think. Heh. Weird is definitely what I was going for.
Liked it too. Wasn’t Douglas Adams the saddest person ever?
Hope not. I don’t know too much about his personal life, but that does tend to be the way things go.
Wombats ahoy. Would like to hear that lecture. Great stream of unconsciousness.
Aloha,
Doug
Well, the wombat incursion of 2014 was widely regarded as the defining event of that particular day in 2014, except for a 1 cent increase in postal rates. Otherwise, defining event.
Great title to go with a great story. I’d like to know more – how did Harmon end up inside Erbert? An infestation of wombats? I love where you went with this!
Harmon would like to know that, too. 🙂
This was definitely surreal! I think you’re well on your way to Hitchhiker territory. Good job.
Thanks. Surreality was definitely what I was going for.
A truly absurd take on the prompt, I definitely agree with others that you could make something in the Douglas Adams style out of this world
Thanks. I’ve got a few projects in the queue that flow along these lines. Have to see how they turn out.