The story spark was Trees. I took the writing prompt: Scientists have discovered that trees communicate through networks of fungi below the ground. Tell us what you think they are saying to one another.
Passing Thoughts
“Not again!” the old oak passed along through its roots, “I can hear the buzzing in the background. Who is it this time?”
As I walked through our neighborhood with my wife, I could hear the sound of falling trees. “What are these people thinking?” I said to my wife.
“I’ll tell you what we’re thinking,” the old oak passed along. “You’re kind are murdering innocent living things for the sake of misguided beauty.”
My wife responded, “They’re not thinking, they are just interested in how beautiful their lawns must look. Trees are but a nuisance, and serve no purpose.”
“No purpose, indeed,” the old oak responded. What about the shade we provide on hot days, the homes we give wildlife, the fruits of our flowers? Tell me where you think you get your apples, pears, and cherries from.”
“I agree,” I reacted. Some people don’t think of anything but how much they will be able to sell their house with a well-manicured lawn. They only want small trees, or evergreens that don’t let leaves cover the ground every fall.
The old oak went on, “Yes, those leaves that we shed. The ones that provide shelter for those animals and insects that live here, too. Insects and worms not only refurbish those precious lawns and gardens, but also provide food for birds and other animals. What would you do without them?”
“I wish there were a way we could get people to understand the beauty of all living things,” my wife said. “All the benefits we get from nature and native plants.”
“It’s interesting how you talk about native plants,” the old oak commented in response to my wife’s statement. “You talk like having a diverse culture is a bad thing, yet that is what you profess as a good thing in your human existence. At least most of you do.”
As we came to the end of our block, we noticed the destruction caused by the new neighbors who had just moved in. A barren landscape, with many trees in their front lawn destroyed. We both looked at each other and said, “So sad.”
We were not privy to the tree network, as they communicated anger and sadness alongside us.
The story spark was Girl Power. I chose the writing prompt “Her parents named her Harmony .” We had 20 minutes to write.
What’s in a Name?
Their life was in turmoil. Lack of income made living hard. Add to that, she was pregnant and soon would give birth to another mouth to feed.
The world itself was also in turmoil. Despots ruled, wars continued, there was no right or wrong. Chaos was the order of the day.
Then came the birth. A child, new to this bedraggled earth. And she was beautiful.
They asked, “What should we name her?” There were plenty of ancestors’ names that could be used. There were also plenty of popular names thought of.
But they decided that this child needed to be named something that expressed the needs of their culture, a goal to strive for, a name that could bring this crazy world to its senses.
Hope was the first name they thought of, but it was discarded. Hope means a wish for an unknown future. We need something that represents a future that will exist, not one to wish for.
Destiny was another name considered. Again, it was rejected. Destiny means a foregone conclusion, but it doesn’t mean that it will be a good one.
What we need is a name that represents a world that works together as one and is a better place to be.
Both called out the word ‘Harmony’ at the same time.
A smile appeared on both their faces as the child before them gurgled in harmony with their pronouncement.
“We name you Harmony,” they said. “Let you be the guiding light in our future. Let you be the bringer of peace and contentment. We will be by your side forever. Let our love carry you through life’s adventures.
————
Fast-forward 40 years. Harmony was a true beacon in the world. She was a powerful teacher. Through her powerful writing and sharing, others listened, and there was change. Her parents’ prophecy became a reality. The world became one of compassion, responsibility, empathy, cooperation, thoughtfulness, and love.
And both parents lived long enough to see it happen.
The writing prompt was to pick something from the list of words/phrases that the happiest people have in common, and then write about one of the happiest times in your or a character’s life. I chose the word – Challenge. We had 20 minutes to write.
The Challenge
I love a good challenge, whether a word puzzle, a hidden treasure, or a daring adventure. I love them all. That is why I decided to partake in the challenge that was presented online by Diputs, Inc. It only cost me $100.00, and I had to act right away. Why not? It was on the internet, and it must have been vetted before it was posted.
Here’s the deal. After using my credit card to give them the money, I was to follow a set of screens that would lead me to a winning mega lottery ticket. It specifically said that the odds of winning were .0001000000%.
Wow, I thought, a million percent, that’s more than 100%. Who could ask for better odds?
My first step in this challenge was to log onto another site and sign in. If I didn’t have an account, all I had to do was create one, which I did. They asked for my name, address, birthdate, and the first nine digits of my Social Security number. They didn’t even want me to have a password. How awesomely secure is that? I hate trying to remember passwords.
I was hesitant about entering my Social Security number, but as I started typing it in, asterisks appeared for every number I typed, so I knew it was safe and no one could read it.
Next, I was sent to another site where I was given riddles to answer, like, “What bank do you use?” “What are your parents’ names?” and stuff like that. That was not much of a challenge. I knew all of those answers. I just wondered how they would know if my answers were correct.
The final thing I had to sign digitally was a non-disclosure statement. I guess they didn’t want anyone to know about this great challenge, like some unscrupulous individuals who might use the game to trick people into giving them money.
Now it was time for the challenge.
I had to answer a math question. It was a simple one.
How much is 5 + 5 x 0 = ?
Could it get any easier than that? The answer is *Zero. Everyone knows that any number times zero is zero.
It didn’t take long for them to respond that I answered correctly and that I had won. They would be sending me the check.
I gave them my phone number and address and am still waiting for all that money. I’m a little surprised it is taking so long—it has been over three weeks.
The funny thing is that I just got my bank statement, and for some reason, the statement says that my account is closed and was zeroed out.
I guess I’ll go to the bank tomorrow and straighten this out. I know for a fact I had at least $300,000 in savings alone. Clearly, there has been a clerical error.
I have completed my 10th year of the A to Z Blog Challenge, and this one was one of the most intensive ones I’ve attempted.
Following the idea that D. B. McNicol used last year of generating 26 random words, one for each letter of the alphabet, to write a 26-part serialized story, I took the plunge. I had Mac ChatGPT generate 26 words, one for each alphabet letter, that were either a noun, verb, or adjective. The words that were generated were Apple, Bright, Climb, Dance, Elegant, Forest, Grow, Happy, Idea, Jump, Kind, Lake, Marvelous, Nest, Observe, Peaceful, Quake, River, Strong, Travel, Unique, Venture, Wander, Xenia, Yearn, and Zephyr.
I made two changes to the words in the list. The adjective Bright, I changed to the adverb Brightly, as it worked better in the story, and I had ChatGPT regenerate another word for X, as I didn’t think many people would know what Xenia meant, being a scientific term. The new X word was Xylophone, which had its own issues, which I’ll describe later.
Having all the words, I then wrote a sentence for each word, such as A – Apple: “It was an ordinary apple, or so she thought.” and B – Brightly: “The moon shone brightly upon the barren landscape. Suffice it to say, I had a sentence for each word. Was it a story? No. But it did have the air of a fantasy one. All I needed to do was come up with a starter, and using the sentences, incorporate them into whatever letter day it was. There were a few sentences that I had to change when writing the actual story, but most of the sentences I created that first time fit into each part.
I had Apple as the first word, and the sentence, The inspiration for Part 1 came in January at a writing group I was in. The writing prompt was “Beginnings,” with a quote by Meister Eckhart: “And suddenly you know: It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.” We had 20 minutes to write.
I ended Part A with a cliffhanger; from there, I just made up the story as I wrote it. In my writing notebook, I made lots of notes. The story begins with the main character turning 19 years old. So at one point, I needed to write the backstory to that character, which I did, not to post, but so I could add pieces of her backstory in the other pieces I wrote and did post. Knowing where she came from helped me guide her, and then about ? of the way through writing, I decided to write the Z part, so I knew how the story would end and could guide her to it.
As I continued to write, I constantly revised earlier pieces so that what I was writing made sense.
As more characters got involved in the story, I chose to make the story non-linear so I could jump between different characters and what they were doing while the main character was doing something else.
The Xylophone became an issue since this type of folk/fantasy tale doesn’t lend itself to a xylophone being mentioned. It would have been out of place. I did find a workaround for it. I included the word in an author’s note at the end of the X part, and within the piece, I worked in an audio clip of a tune I needed, and played it on a xylophone. The fact that I needed a xylophone in the story made me create a song earlier in the piece, which became essential to the plot.
My favorite comments were many. One person was so enamored of the story that they would comment after every piece, yelling at the characters and what they should do or what should happen to them. D.B. McNicol’s idea from 2024 spurred me on to do this, and her comments throughout my writing, including the last one with the suggestion that I publish my story, were much appreciated.
I posted my writing on my blog and shared the link daily on Facebook, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and Substack. I’m not sure who read it from the links on any of those. I switched my Facebook sharing from Friends to Public. What I noticed was that there were a lot of bots that started, and I have continued reading random posts on my blog site. I’m not sure if that was due to my going public.
Even though I started writing this in January, I didn’t finish the last bit until the night before Y was posted. This left me little time to read anyone else’s posts. I did read D. B. McNicol’s and enjoyed it. With this over, I hope to read more during the A to Z Roadtrips.
I learned a lot about writing this year. I wrote a 26-part story in 2023 (https://www.hdhstory.net/Storyblog/?p=3431), which worked similarly to this. However, I had control over which words I could use for that one. And since I was the main character, it was easier to write. This year, there was a lot more writing.
I’ll do the A to Z challenge next year. I enjoy doing it, and I’m always trying to devise a different way to write about things, so I’m unsure what my theme will be. You’ll have to wait and see.
For those of you who want to read “Destiny,” this year’s story, I suggest you start at the beginning, Destiny—Part 1, though going to any letter starts with a link you can choose to get to Part 1. Don’t go to Y or Z first; they’ll ruin all the fun.
This story was written for the 2025 April A to Z Blog Challenge. Twenty-six words, one for each letter of the alphabet, were pre-selected by a random word generator (MacChatGPT) and were included for each section of the appropriate letter in the Challenge. The chosen word is highlighted within the text. To start the story from the beginning, go to https://www.hdhstory.net/Storyblog/?p=4443.
Forces of King Yarek and Princess Alondria gathered opposite each other, ready to fight. King Yarek called on Princess Alondria to relinquish her claim to the throne or else he would kill the family who raised her, as well as everyone who supported her. His weapon, which he takes from her, is the magic blue flower that could destroy anyone he chose. Rowan, to save Alondria, sings out the lullaby that is meant to calm her fears and give her confidence. Everyone joins in the singing. Confidence restored, she convinces Yarek that she and all her followers are evil. Egocentric person that he is, he uses the weapon to destroy all evil ones in Tirea, which works. All of Yarek’s followers turn to dust, including Yarek himself.
———–
Destiny – Part 26 Conclusion (zephyr)
King Yarek was no more. The people of Tirea had spoken. Those who had knowingly aided in the foul deeds of the pretender King Yarek were also gone. Those who joined the fight against Yarek were spared. They were given the choice to stay in Tirea or leave and start afresh.
Now was the time to heal all the cruelty and hostility towards the citizens of Tirea. Now was the time for their spirits to be raised. They all had Princess Alondria to thank for that. Of course, she had a lot of help from others – the couple that saved her (Marco and Lidea), the family that raised her, Queen Isolara of Glandisol and her armies, the creatures she befriended along the way, and, of course, Rowan.
It was a time for celebration, and a big one was planned. Everyone attended the coronation of Queen Alondria. Queen Isolara was there to place the crown upon Alondria’s head. The Queen had to correct herself as she said, “I now crown thee, Queen Adrian…Alondria, ruler of the Queendom of Tirea. Long may you live, and may you rule with strength, compassion, and justice.
To make the celebration even better, Queen Isolara named Rowan as Queen Alondria’s Prince Consort, a proclamation that no one there was surprised to hear.
Queen Alondria (better known as Adriana to her friends) stood straight and strong as she accepted the crown and addressed everyone in attendance.
“There was a time when I thought I knew who I was and what I wanted to be. I wanted to be a princess and the future ruler of a land like the one we stand in today. This was well before I knew my bloodline and that I was already a princess.
I was looked down upon when I chose my destiny in the country where I was raised. They did not believe it was possible. For one, I had doubts, too, but I knew what I wanted deep inside. Little did I know that my destiny was choosing me.
I stand here today as your queen. My destiny has been reached. At my side, I have my Prince. I have already befriended neighboring kingdoms and even my own country of Glendan, which is no longer skeptical of what I chose. They all wish to work in harmony with us.
As your ruler, I pledge to restore control of your lives to you. I did not know my birth parents, but from talking to the elders of Tirea, I have discovered that my birth parents were fair, loved, and supported by all. I hope to live up to the standards that they set. So, celebrate not just for me, but for yourselves too. You deserve it. You’ve struggled for nineteen years without hope. Be well, and let us work together to build the world as it should be for all.”
With that said, Queen Alondria stepped down. There were loud cheers from all. She hugged her foster mother, father, sister, and brother, offering them all a place at her side. They all kindly refused but promised they would return often. Alondria replied that she, too, would visit them and Glendan. For Queen Isolara, Alondria also promised visits and much trade between their Queendoms.
The people all returned to their homes, and life began anew for everyone.
Alondria and Rowan went to the palace garden early the next day. They sat beneath an apple tree in the palace garden as a zephyr cooled the air on that warm spring day, reminiscing about all the events that had transpired since her arrival. Much to be forgotten, much to be remembered, and much to look forward to. How appropriate that it was Spring, the budding of a new life, which brings an end to our tale.
This story was written for the 2025 April A to Z Blog Challenge. Twenty-six words, one for each letter of the alphabet, were pre-selected by a random word generator (MacChatGPT) and were included for each section of the appropriate letter in the Challenge. The chosen word is highlighted within the text. To start the story from the beginning, go to https://www.hdhstory.net/Storyblog/?p=4443.
Using the magic power of the blue flower, Princess Alondria summoned her forces utilizing the lullaby tune of Rowan’s childhood. King Yarek, too, summoned his forces and had a surprise awaiting Alondria before any kind of battle could take place.
————-
Destiny – Part 25 (yearn)
Rowan and Alondria stood at the bottom of the hill. Behind them stood the people of Tirea, the creatures and birds of the Forbidden Forest and Glandisol. Approaching from the other side of the hill marched warriors, led by Queen Isolara.
King Yarek stood confidently at the top of the hill, his armies encircling the middle part of the hill, facing the gathering of the princess’s forces.
All Alondria could see was the upper half of Yarek standing atop the hill. This would be a horrific battle.
Yarek called out, “Child Alondria, this battle is between you and me alone.” It was then that Yarek ordered the men directly between himself and Alondria to part and leave a passage for her to him on top of the hill. “Stop all this futile bloodshed and relinquish your inheritance.”
Alondria turned to Rowan and said, “Leave me to go up alone. I can deal with this.”
Rowan made to protest but was stopped by Princess Alondria, “That is my command. I will not permit this needless slaughter.”
And so, she ascended the hill and approached Yarek.
All could feel the confidence she carried with her as she met with him. But then something changed.
When Alondria reached Yarek, he said, “And here’s a little insurance to see that you comply with my demands. He stepped aside so that Alondria and all could see those lying on the ground behind him.
Alondria gasped seeing her foster mother and father, as well as her brother and sister, comatose on the ground.
Yarek continued, “You may be willing to sacrifice those who follow you, who are not even known to you, but are you willing to sacrifice these four, for it is they who will die first?”
Alondria fell to her knees in tears. This was not supposed to happen. All was lost.
Rowan could see what was happening. He felt, as most did, Princess Alondria’s fear and loss of confidence. He had to do something, but she was too far away. So, he sang out a familiar tune, only with different words this time.
“Be strong our princess
For we are all here
We’ll be there with you
To comfort your fear
The love in our hearts
Will grow as you do
So follow your dreams
And we’ll follow you.”
When he was done, he sang it again and again. He was joined by Marco and Lidea, who walked up beside him. Queen Isolara added her voice, as did Springbounder, Sparrow-White, Luvtrue, and the others who followed them. Soon, the people from the villages picked up the new lyrics and joined in, as well as those who served Yarek, who were opposed to his command.
Adriana’s foster father once taught her that when you yearn for something hard enough and follow your dreams with passion, that which you seek reveals itself. Princess Alondria stood up with newfound confidence. She went to reach into her backpack for the blue flower, but she was not quick enough.
Yarek, sensing her plan, snatched the backpack from her before she could get it. He reached into it himself and pulled out the blue flower, holding it high over his head.
“You think I don’t know of this flower and the power it holds? You never had a chance. You’ll lose just as your weak parents did. It is I who rule here, and always will. No song will change that.”
But the song continued to be sung. And as more and more joined the chorus, Alondria had an idea.
“Look around you,” she shouted. “You will never win. Even some of your supporters seem to be joining in. It is you and your minions who believe in all your lies and broken promises that will suffer. We are not the evil here.”
King Yarek just laughed. “I beg to differ. I am the greatest thing that has ever happened to this land, and I will make it greater still. I am not the evil one; it is you and your followers that refuse to see my greatness that are the evil ones.”
“Then do what you must,” the princess said, “use that power and see how well it works for you.”
King Yarek’s bravado got the best of him. He never gave it another thought. He raised the blue flower above his head and called out, “Destroy all these evil ones in this land. Make it quick. Make them all turn to dust.”
All watched as the flower in Yarek’s hand turned to crystal and then shattered. Following that, there were those within the ranks of Yarek’s troops and elsewhere within the kingdom who vanished, leaving behind piles of dust.
Yarek refused to be defeated; he pulled out a knife from his belt and raised it high, intending to thrust into the princess’s heart, but he, too, turned to dust as the knife dropped to the ground.
This story was written for the 2025 April A to Z Blog Challenge. Twenty-six words, one for each letter of the alphabet, were pre-selected by a random word generator (MacChatGPT) and were included for each section of the appropriate letter in the Challenge. The chosen word is highlighted within the text. To start the story from the beginning, go to https://www.hdhstory.net/Storyblog/?p=4443.
We found out more about Rowan’s past. Alondria and Rowan also discovered their love for each other. Now they are preparing to call in all their supporters and confront King Yarek.
Destiny – Part 24 (Xylophone)
The time had come. It was time for all the supporters of Princess Alondria to gather for the confrontation with King Yarek over the rule of Tirea.
Alondria had a method to notify everyone, but how would they know where to go when she didn’t even know where to go herself?
As they marched towards the heart of Tirea, villagers began to follow. Each carried whatever they could find that might be useful in case they were called to fight.
Alondria turned to Rowan and asked one of the questions that had been troubling her thoughts. “How do we know where to find him?”
She heard a reply, but it was not from Rowan. It came from behind her.
”You must go to the center of Tirea. There is a hill there we call King’s Sleep, in honor of your father.”
Alondria turned around and stared at a man whom she did not recognize. Rowan was quite familiar with him.
”Princess Alondria,” Rowan said. “This is the man who helped me find you. I’d like to introduce you to Marvelous Marco.”
”It is an honor to meet you,” she said. “I am ever so grateful for your help. It saved my life. How is it you know where to find Yarek? And, how does this King’s Sleep honor my father?”
”To answer your first question,” Marco replied, “Let’s just say I have connections. There are those who owe me. And part of my recompense is information when needed. The information I desired was where the king was planning to meet up with you. As to your other question, King’s Sleep is where your father fought valiantly against Yarek. It was there that he was killed in battle. He was buried by his armies before Yarek could get his body to taunt the citizens of Tirea, claiming he was weak. Yarek does not know that he was buried there, but the rest of your father’s supporters do. We think of our great King Petyr as being asleep, not dead. And that some day he will awaken and rid us of this menace. We believe that you are the embodiment of both your parents, and you are here to do just that and restore the crown to him, through you.”
”That’s a lot to ask of me,” Alondria said. “But I do intend to take up that challenge. It is my desire. It is my destiny. But knowing where he’ll be is one thing. I can summon all that follow me when the time is right for that confrontation. But how will they know where to go?”
Another voice spoke up nearby. “That would be my responsibility.”
Rowan and Alondria turned toward the voice. Alondria needed no introduction, and Rowan was pretty sure who she was.
Marco turned to them both, “Allow me to introduce you to my wife, Lidea. Princess, I’m sure you recognize her as the lady of the lake; and Rowan, I surmise from your expression that you had figured that out already.”
”It’s a pleasure to see you again, princess, and Rowan, to meet you in person,” Lidea said. “Now, before you ask, I know you have set up the code word for the group, and you know how to send the signal; that is all you have to do. If you let me hold the flower with you when it is sent, I can add a certain element to that signal that will sustain it. As long as those who hear the signal can follow it, they will arrive at King’s Sleep.”
”I don’t understand,” said Rowan. “How will they know which way to go?”
Lidea continued her explanation, “They will be following a strong sound. If they veer off course, the sound will decrease in volume. While going in the right direction, the signal remains strong.”
”That’s kind of like a game I played with my brother and sister when I was young,” Alondria said. “I would hide something, and the others would have to find it. If they were close, I would say that they were getting warmer; if they were moving in the wrong direction, I would say they were getting colder. This continued until they found what was hidden, then we’d switch roles.”
”Exactly,” was Rowan’s remark.
“So when should we send this signal?” the princess asked.
Marco answered that one. “Now is as good a time as any.”
”So be it,” was Princess Alondria’s response. So saying, she pulled out the blue flower that Lidea had explained would send the tune. Lidea stood beside her, and they both held on to it.
”Send the message,” Lidea said.
While holding onto the flower, Princess Alondria thought. “Play for Adriana.”
At the same time, Lidea thought, “Come to King’s Sleep.”
This is what was heard: (Readers, you can hear the tune that was sent by clicking on the link below:**
Alondria could tell by the expressions on the faces of those around her that her message had been received.
Time to move on to King’s Sleep Hill and a meeting with Prince Yarek and his forces.
And they all moved forward, heading for what all hoped was Princess Alondria’s destiny.
——
**Author’s note: If you were able to hear the tune that was played for all of Princess Alondria’s followers when you clicked on it, then you are truly a follower of the princess. It was played on a xylophone. If you are reading this and can’t click on the song or hear it, trust me, I played it on a xylophone, and deep down, you are probably not a favored friend and supporter of the princess.
The writing prompt for this was: People always have something to say. We had 6 minutes to write.
People always have something to say
Order, please, Order.
But I have to be heard.
Not him, it’s my turn.
Forget about them, I know the answer.
The answer, I don’t even remember the question.
We need to have order.
I’ll take a ham and cheese on rye.
This is not the time for jokes.
It’s not a joke, I’m hungry, and we were told to order.
Can I have my say now?
Why should you go first? I’m the elder here.
Pardon me, but age doesn’t count here.
Says old money bags over there.
We can not accomplish anything unless we have decorum!
Oh, so now he wants decorum, I thought he wanted order.
If this continues, I will have to make the decision myself.
But what about our opinions? We should have a say.
I still say ham and cheese on rye.
Grow up, this is a business, not a deli.
That’s it! I adjourn this meeting. It’s over.
Suddenly, there was silence.
Everyone looked at each other with eyes that cast the blame on everyone else.
The chief executive just got up and went back to his office, shut the blinds so no one could look in, sat back, and ate the sandwich his wife prepared for his lunch.
