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Start or end your story with a person buying a house plant.

Posted in Fluff on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 63 stories

A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing, a Murder Mystery

Submitted to Contest #143

“My name is Darren, 2 years sober. I bought this house plant today, and I am an alcoholic.” Darren smiled and gestured theatrically toward the lily plant on the table in front with him. Everyone in the room already had a good look at it. “I’ve let down many, many people in my relationships as my only real love was my drug of choice. With the advice from my new sponsor, I’m going to avoid a relationship for the next 12 months and learn how to take care of others by taking care of this plant.” He looked at the plant and then back at ...

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Cup of Tea

Submitted to Contest #143

Selthia set the little potted plant on the counter and looked up into the eyes of the bear in an apron. Behind the giant carnivore were a myriad of plants on dusty shelves, their leaves and vines covering the old wooden walls and obscuring the dirty windows. “Is that all, Razia?” The bear asked, her voice low but not threatening. It took Selthia a moment to realize she was being spoken to. “O-Oh, yes, that’s all Honeytree,” she said courteously. “That’ll be one copper.” “I believe I can afford that,” the little dusk-colored vixen sai...

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A House Plant Indeed

Submitted to Contest #143

 A house plant indeed.  Christina wandered the aisles of Nordstrom’s Department Store. It was cold outside, and the warmth of the store felt good. Everything she needed was in the store. She began in the linen section. She ran her hands over the highest thread count sheets. She closed her eyes into old memories of her favorite gold-colored sheets. Her mind filled with loving embraces, lazy weekends spent in bed, long conversations as her head rested on her expensive favorite pillow. These new sh...

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A Fresh Start

Submitted to Contest #143

The flowers you bought me are still sitting by the kitchen window. The dried petals and leaves falling onto the marbled counter top. I sit and stare at the sad, drooping flowers. I like to think that they are some sort of metaphor for us. We were beautiful in the beginning. We were bright, vibrant, and fun. We were full of love and hope. We made sure to water the flowers and give them sunlight, so they can thrive and grow. We did really well for a while, at least until you left.The flowers began to die because I couldn’t bring myself to take...

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Saturday Morning Nostalgia

Submitted to Contest #143

 Saturday mornings are for drinking coffee, being up in time for breakfast, and trips to the farmers market or to Trader Joe’s, Aldi, or Wegman’s if you live in upstate NY and choose not to brave the farmers market in the dead of winter. Saturdays are also for purchasing house plants to bring back to my apartment where they will likely meet their death. The market has a variety of plant vendors. There are succulents, which are my favorite because they can't be killed easily, there are annuals that can be planted in the garden,...

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Great Uncle Anton

Submitted to Contest #143

“Are you sure I bought it?” queried Bradley as he stood and looked at the plant alongside the estate dealer’s delivery driver. “Yes sir. One Nineteenth-century French Louis XV Gilt Bronze-Mounted Side Cabinet…and plant.” The delivery man checked the manifest and double-tapped his pen on the sheet with a firmness that confirmed his absolute accuracy. “I don’t recall saying,” Bradley persisted. “It’s all here in black and white. Shall we take them inside for you sir?” Bradley scratched his temple and nodded his head. “Yes. The cabinet wi...

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Susan

Submitted to Contest #143

SUSANBy Stephen A. MassaSusan stood at the south-facing window, absorbing the sunlight streaming through the panes. She longed to feel the fresh air, but the cool draft penetrating the glass made her wish for much warmer climes.Her neighbors, stationary as much as she was, were similar in size and stature, if not in color. At the far end of the row, Julia differed from the rest, her purple and pink hues contrasting sharply with the yellows and whites of her peers.Susan was there the longest, not for lack of interest, but of cost. She was tal...

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Blooming Barter

Submitted to Contest #143

 Above Cadyn’s head, the rusty, non-functioning traffic-light swung in the restless breeze. Nervously, he gazed towards the nearby alley. It wasn’t the high-pitched squeak that he could hear that bothered him: nah, it was all the noises that the sporadic metallic clang was drowning out that he couldn’t hear. With a burst of confidence energized by resting one hand on the massive machete buckled to the right side of his belt, he took a chance and scuttled quickly across the apparently deserted street. Once sheltered by the shadows agai...

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Reaping What You Sow

Submitted to Contest #143

I had heard it’s good for your mental health to have a plant, and that seems way more manageable for me than say a girlfriend or a cat. So I went to the garden center to find one for my new home. I was a little scared though because I had never bought a plant before. That may sound a little silly but I had a good reason. I had honestly never taken care of another living creature before. I barely did ok taking care of myself.  After several minutes of looking at everything in the store and not finding anything interesting, I was about to...

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Bucket List

Submitted to Contest #143

ㅤThe plants died slowly, but the flies arrived overnight. Nicky heard the buzzing as he stirred his morning coffee, and went to investigate. In the living room, a large mirror hung on the wall behind the plants, doubling their decaying anatomy and reflecting Nicky’s frown back at him. A faint, sweet smell filled the air. ㅤMoving closer, Nicky could see the flies hum in and out between the drooping leaves. One of them, which could have been a fruit fly, flew again and again into the mirror. Each collision made a soft tap against the glass. W...

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Pete

Submitted to Contest #143

“I need something sturdy. Something with some constitution.” Kevin said to the cashier. “Something that isn’t just going to drop dead?” She said with a chuckle. “I got you, don’t worry.” She led Kevin down an aisle, passing many tropical plants on either side. Kevin followed, shoulders slouched, gazing at her heels making sure not to step on them. “Here we are. This is a ZZ plant. It is nigh unkillable. It would take an impressive level of neglect on your part to let this one die.” The girl looked at Kevin with a grin which quickly faded...

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Open the window

Submitted to Contest #143

Two years ago Cillian broke up with Lily. The impenetrable love they shared was unbelievably scarring. When they fought, they would make it a goal to ensure the other was crying on the bathroom floor afterwards out of love. When they laughed, they would make sure the other was hunched over and gasping for air. When they made love, they made it clear they wanted the other to feel as if they were in the presence of God. Their love was flawed with undesired actions of hate but filled with an overwhelming amount of compassion.  In the beg...

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Exotic Venus Fly Traps (and Where to Buy Them)

Submitted to Contest #143

Driving down barren Highway 43 on a dreary summer afternoon, Lily noticed a peculiar sight just up ahead – a man sitting behind a lone table on the side of the road. A sign hanging on the edge of the table read, “Exotic Venus fly traps looking for a loving caregiver. ALL SALES FINAL.” That’s quite an odd sight, thought Lily, as she approached the roadside merchant.  Lily slowed down and parked her car in front of the display. She got out and walked up to the merchant. Laying on the merchant’s table were cle...

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Juice

Submitted to Contest #143

I see him. He's talking with the foreman on the other sidewalk, wearing a white polo shirt with slim black pants.I remember his hair turned a brownish hue when the rays of the sun touched his hair.Now the sun reveals a very blackened hair, probably coloured with dye to hide the signs of aging. I don't know why I find him so recognizable, especially after all those years but after catching sight of him a few weeks ago, I couldn't shake the idea that seemed too improbable and suspensely waited for our next meeting.Now, he is here.And...

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A Thousand Pieces and One Big One

Submitted to Contest #143

Beth woke up all at once. The kind of waking up that ruins an entire day. The kind of instant unknown that makes a person forget why they once loved dreaming so much. It’s so sudden, how the thought of going back to sleep for just another hour because visions of elementary school felt so comforting, becomes an incomprehensible memory. What was so great about elementary school? Trying to think of all the things that could turn this day around, she considered going to the grocery store or cleaning the house. Maybe write a letter to herself, ...

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