Our last story for our prompt: There was a statue in the garden. I LOVE seeing how differently we all respond to these prompts. Please leave us a comment, and share this with your friends!!
Fascinating by Rebekah Palmer
"It seems there were 4, maybe 5 species, in this place? I mean, 2 seem so similar, like offspring and the parent, but just not quite," they said.
"Do you think though this might not be representative of the kinds of inhabitants here but rather a community of important figures in this culture?" she said.
"Yeah! Or maybe just portrayals of archetypes that the people who dwelled held to high esteem? Look....a lion could depict courage. Maybe this woodcutter symbolized a sturdy work ethic and this straw man a flexibility and casualness to life. The little girl, innocence, and her small pet....hmmmm....resilience?" he replied.
The three explorers circled the statues in the garden. They had landed in a garden, of sorts, according to a map labeled with the letters O-Z.
"I dunno. A memorial of the species that once occupied this land could very well be why the statues exist in such a meditative and contemplative spot such as a garden," they continued.
"Well, obviously, these people have forgotten as this overgrowth of the plants and gnarly look of the trees suggests. The mold and chipped parts of these statues show lack of upkeep by this society," she spoke "their values must not...hey look!" she exclaimed.
She smeared away flecks of dirt and tangled grass to reveal a stone slab with the following verses:
I could dally away the duration
debatin' with the vegetation
conferin' with the mizzle;
And my noggin I'd be itchin'
While my notions would be bitchin'
If I only gave a shizzle.
I'd untangle every puzzle
for any schmuck or dandy
who'd ask advice of me
with the views I'd be sharin'
you'd lend a lotta carin'
If you only gave a shizzle
Oh, I could tell you why
the world is in a stew
It's so dark and we're all stuck like glue
then I'd have to comfort you
I would not be just a cheese
my mind all full of ground beef
my pump all full of fear
And perhaps I'd justify this and be
even satisfied that
I don't really give a shizzle.
"Perhaps we have everything we think these characters represent incorrectly!" he revised "This society needed reminders for listening, compassion, and meeting each other's needs so the work industry had become heartless and the average man had become brainless and the children only had immoral options! They needed to hear what their community had become and collectively rise from the ashes."
"Or it's just silly gibberish and entertaining--the point could be a distraction from how this society ended," they chided.
"Well, what knowledge are we going to take back to our colony from this exploration?" she retorted.
"Photographs of it, mostly. Ohhhhh Zeeee visuals for those in our colony to determine what they think this society once was," they said.
"What if this Ohhhh Zeeee didn't really exist here?" he wondered "What if it's all imagination and the people here just wanted to capture their favorite stories for progeny?"
"Well, it exists in this physical space.....Ahhhhhzzz or Ohhhh Zeeee," they answered.
"What was going on in this society's collective psyche...." she contemplated aloud.
"Escape," he determined.
Author Note: there are several places around the US that have gardens and public spaces with statues from L. Frank Baum's book the Wonderful Wizard of Oz published in the year 1900. Beech Mountain, NC (Land of Oz) and Chicago, IL (Oz Park) are two places that encourage people to visit their monuments to the beloved Oz characters. What will travelers from the future think of our collective literature/media fascinations? Will they think it's about us or the works we created?
