limeMar 8
Micro SF/F by O. Westin

There used to be an old sign by the path, warning passers-by of the local sleeping willow, which would trap the unwary with fatigue, engulf them while they slept, and release them a hundred years later.

There was a new sign:

"This sleeping willow is full."

And a map of other locations to try.

#MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

Mar 5 at 2:08pmWeb
Show threadProf. Emily M. Bender(she/her)Mar 5
@MicroSFF Ooh! I love this. And my immediate thought was it would be interesting to read a novel set 100 years in the future tracking how the people who woke up first (having started their sleep first) guide (or don't) the later-comers as they wake up.
Show threadProf. Emily M. Bender(she/her)Mar 5
@MicroSFF ... character arcs started by what in the 2020s led them to make that choice / the early-sleepers maybe read the decade quicker but also lack information about what happened next, etc.
Show threadAndrewMar 5
@emilymbender @MicroSFF I expect the first wakers just put up a third sign, this time pointed inwards, toward the willow, saying "best give it another hundred"
Show threadferitae 🇺🇦🇺🇦Mar 5
@andrewt @emilymbender @MicroSFF Too true! 
Show threadAnders NorénMar 5
@MicroSFF
https://beige.party/@barbiegirlinterrupted/116174088350533179
Barbie Girl, Interrupted (@[email protected])

When I was little there was a big weeping willow tree on my street & I was terrified of it. I was convinced the branches were gonna scoop me up and swallow me whole. One day I got brave & went up to it...and it swallowed me, I've been inside the tree ever since, it's pretty nice in here actually

beige.party
Show threadMicro SF/F by O. WestinMar 5
@violanders Hah!
Show threadNoam writesMar 5
@MicroSFF
"Well, if I sleep for a hundred years at least my evil boss will be gone. And my in-laws."
[100 years later]
"Oh shit, my boss and my in-laws were in the willow too!"
Show threadMandar Vaze (desipenguin)Mar 5
@MicroSFF I want to know how long it took for the willow to get full 😄
Show threadderptronMar 5

@MicroSFF Time for the bonfire then.

Every generation wants to ride the next without doing any of the work. :p

Show threadBee O'Problem Mar 5
@MicroSFF where's Tom Bombadil when you need him?
Show threadMoriel 🏳️‍⚧️Mar 6

@beeoproblem @MicroSFF

Where's Tom Bombadil? Sleeping in the willow along with the rest of them. i mean, living through the rise of Sauron was one thing, but have you seen the crap going on in the world today? shudder

Show threadNelsonMar 5
@MicroSFF Cthulhu was actually just trying to escape his shitty timeline, but when he woke up it was a case of "you don't know what you've got till it's gone" and he just wanted to recreate what he ran away from
Show threadeighteyesMar 5
@MicroSFF Logged in to Mastodon for the first time with intentionality. This was the first post. How fitting. Thank you.
Show threadKMWoolMar 5
@MicroSFF
Sounds like the perfect nap to me.
Show threadKit BashirMar 5
@MicroSFF 💜
Show threadMoriel 🏳️‍⚧️Mar 6

@MicroSFF

Please send me that map.

Show threadDenianMar 7
@MicroSFF Am I the only one who doesn't see any indication that the willow prevents you from dying during those 100 years?
Show threadRaederleMar 7
@MicroSFF any guide for growing staring my own grove? My grandchildren are going to need this.