Flash Fiction Friday

The Long Trail Home

by Donna L Martin

Snow glistened all around as Lone Wolf's pony took slow crackling steps up the next ridge. Worry hardened his face as he searched the distant trees for some sign of Red Eagle. So far this winter had been harsh and many of the elders would no longer sit at tribal council. That left Lone Wolf to decide what was right for the people of his village. What would be best? Stay and pray Mother Earth would be kind to them or go in search of another land to call home?

Food was becoming harder to find ever since the pale faces stormed the valley and the children were paying the price as they tried to ignore the cries of a hungry belly. Red Eagle was their last hope. He had been gone for two moons, now Lone Wolf waited on the ridge for some sign of the warrior's return.

Just as the morning sun crested the far mountaintop, Lone Wolf saw something break through a stand of snow covered trees and slowly make its way to the river. Was it Red Eagle? Lone Wolf felt the icy air race deep into his lungs as his breath quickened. What news did he bring? 


***Okay, it's your turn! Does Red Eagle bring news to save the village? Or will the harshness of winter still blow across the valley and Lone Wolf's people?  Put your creative cap on and add a sentence or add a paragraph. Continue my story or start one of your own. Join the fun and see where this picture prompt takes us!***

Flash Fiction Friday

Thank You Mother Earth

By Donna L Martin

Little Bear could hear the women of the village as they did their morning chores. Voices raised in praise to Mother Earth for bringing them another day from the arms of Father Moon. Little Bear knew it was almost time to go on the hunt, but he lay still amongst the skins and drank in the smell of venison roasting on the spit outside the lodge. He knew he should be proud the elders finally chose him to go with the others so why did his insides tremble so?

Hearing his mother's sharp tongue urging him to hurry, Little Bear slowy crawled out of the tent to meet his breath in the frosty morning air. Joining the other braves as they prepared their horses for the hunt, Little Bear watched the elders as they chanted prayers for a swift kill and a safe return. 

Before he could even gather his thoughts, the horses raced across the plains in search of Tahtanka, the great horned beast of the prairie. A good hunt would help Little Bear's people survive the many moons of the long nights when food was scarce and firewood even scarcer. He must show his mother and the elders he was a man now and could provide for the village like the other warriors.

Caught in a daydream, he was startled to hear a loud bellow behind him. Turning just in time to see the bison begin to charge in his direction, Little Bear yelled for his horse to run like the wind as he reached for his bow. "Thank you, Mother Earth, for this chance to prove I am worthy of my people," Little Bear shouted as he quickly took aim...

***Okay, it's your turn! Does Little Bear provide for his people? Or does Tahtanka defeat him?  Put your creative cap on and add a sentence or add a paragraph. Continue my story or start one of your own. Join the fun and see where this picture prompt takes us!***