The Tides They Are A-Changin'

It was a twice daily occurrence. Water gradually crept up the shore, claiming the land and scattered detritus in sacrificial tribute, only to recess gracefully back once more.

The powerful and inexorable tides! Countless livelihoods depended on their constant rhythm. Yet for those who knew what to look for, troubling signs portended a change was coming. A slight burgeoning of the seas slowly encroaching the Earth's surface.

And then tonight. Water flooded everywhere, until even the tallest mountains were covered. This was no 40-day affair, but the complete envelopment of all humankind.

Water, water everywhere, no one left to drink.

The Loyal Dog

There is a shrine on a small Pacific island that was intended to be an agnostic memorial saluting the bravery and sacrifice on both sides. So many years have gone by, however, that memories of that battle have become obscured, much as the shrine itself has been weighed down by lichen and neglect.

People still visit the shrine and leave tributes. They aren't for the fallen soldiers, but for one particular dog who remained on that spot for ten years after his master was killed. He is remembered as the loyal dog and people mourn him more than any soldier.

The Conquering Heroes

Viking raiders would return from their numerous expeditions and invasions as conquering heroes and hope to receive a heroes' welcome. Instead, they were generally greeted with indifference bordering on disdain.

Their victims around the world thought of Vikings as the most fearsome warriors on Earth, but that wasn't true. The only reason they needed to sail to distant lands in search of plunder and wives was because they'd been alienated from their own communities. They were considered enfeebled outcasts.

The strongest Viking warriors in fact stayed home and forced their weaker counterparts to pay them tribute in food and gold.

The Institution

The Institution stood at the top of the hill, perched over the city like a carrion bird. The city sagged below the Institution like heat-festered roadkill. The relationship between the two was a symbiotic one.

Ralph trudged to the Institution hauling the gold and the letters and the scented cadavers. He placed the annual tribute inside the entry and awaited instructions.

The door to his right was slightly ajar so Ralph went to have a look. It was a musty, little-used coat room.

“You’re not allowed in there.”

Ralph shrugged his shoulders and plodded back down to the city.

The Daily Theme from Figment for February 6, 2012

Set a scene inside an institution of some kind (a school, a hospital, a bank). Now take us to a room that only a few people normally have access to (a janitorial closet, the morgue, an executive suite). What happens when someone gets in who shouldn’t be there?

Permanent Vacation

I suppose you'll want me to start with the beginning, get straight into the middle, before building to a conclusion, and all that other crap you learn in English class, but I really don't give a damn. Lucy always went on about proper structure, like she wasn’t just repeating Mrs. Calloway, and it’s all trite as hell. People keep asking why I don’t go back to school if I want to be taken seriously. People are funny that way, always asking phony questions. Lucy was the worst. She’s annoying as hell, but she has big tits. Sometimes I miss her.

Genre: Salinger