Copyright Roger Bultot
Truck Reborn
The state fair was abuzz with the news: a boy had grown a truck for his 4-H project.
“How did you do it?” the judge asked.
“I planted part of the chassis and watered it with motor oil, infused with Miracle-Gro,” the boy said dully. His was the only unexcited face in sight. “It doesn’t matter: it didn’t work.”
“What do you mean? This is a miracle! You took a wrecked truck and brought it back to life.”
“But I did it for my dad.”
“Ah,” the judge said. “Where is he?”
“He was in the truck when it wrecked.”
The Green-Walled Tower 
August 20th, 2014 at 12:36 pm
David,
Once again you serve up a fine story for us Fictioneers. There’s so much humanity in this piece–beautiful and heartbreaking.
Marie Gail
August 20th, 2014 at 1:04 pm
Oh, wow! Awesome write.
August 20th, 2014 at 1:59 pm
Thanks. 🙂
August 20th, 2014 at 1:14 pm
That was so neat and yet so sad.
August 20th, 2014 at 4:56 pm
Deep. So much said in such few words. The twist at the end is heartbreaking. Well written…Kept me wondering where it was going.
August 20th, 2014 at 9:39 pm
Awww! So sad for that boy. Well done!
August 20th, 2014 at 10:34 pm
Thanks, Lisa. 🙂
August 20th, 2014 at 10:12 pm
Very well written. compact, wry , funny and sad.
Understated sad humor.
Great job. I really liked it. Randy
August 20th, 2014 at 10:35 pm
Thanks, Randy.
August 21st, 2014 at 2:43 am
That’s a terrific story David; heart-breaking but almost comic at the same time. Very well done.
August 21st, 2014 at 5:09 am
David, That story was both magical and sad. It was also very well written. —Susan
August 21st, 2014 at 6:13 am
Dear David,
I waited for the punch line and got it literally. I feel like I’ve been socked in the stomach. I mean that as a compliment. Imaginative and beautifully sad. Swallowing the lump in my throat and going on.
Shalom,
Rochelle
August 21st, 2014 at 8:14 am
a tender story. magical and heart-breaking at the same time.
August 21st, 2014 at 2:44 pm
David, I expected it to be filled with humor.. and instead I end up being close to tears.. One of your best ever.
August 21st, 2014 at 8:37 pm
Holy CRAP, Dave! What have you gone and done this time? 😀
Awesome story! Would that my mind were as twisted as the vine.
August 22nd, 2014 at 9:34 am
Lovely story, well portrayed sadness of a child.
August 22nd, 2014 at 11:13 pm
Ooh, that is unfortunate. Otherwise, I was really excited for the boy. Miracle Gro does wondrous things, indeed. I guess all for the sake of ingenuity, a sacrifice. How are you, David? Hope things are going well for you!
August 24th, 2014 at 2:34 am
Dear David – This is such a clever story with magical undertones. I was taken back when I realized what had happened to the truck and the boys dad. Great writing as usual! Nan 🙂
August 26th, 2014 at 1:38 pm
Thanks, Nan. Glad you liked it. 🙂
August 24th, 2014 at 9:49 am
I can’t add much to what others have already said. Outstanding work, David.
August 26th, 2014 at 1:38 pm
Thanks, Russell. 🙂
August 24th, 2014 at 9:59 am
So poignant. The contrast between the crowd’s joy and the boy’s broken heart is so clear; his loss and desperation palpable.
August 26th, 2014 at 1:30 pm
Yes, it all depends on your goals. They didn’t see his real objective.
August 24th, 2014 at 11:11 am
This was almost fun until you broke my heart.
August 26th, 2014 at 1:29 pm
Yeah, that’s about what my wife said too. 🙂
August 24th, 2014 at 2:02 pm
David I loved this…the sweetness of it…these little tales are very special…you should put them all together in an eBook…love how poignant they are amid the brevity. You nail it with so few words…a lesson to the rest of us…
August 26th, 2014 at 1:28 pm
Thank you, Susannah. Maybe I will put all the best ones together in a book sometime. I like these 100-word stories as kind of a writing exercise every week. I’m hoping to get back to writing more soon.
August 26th, 2014 at 6:28 pm
You’ve created a new quirky genre…glad you will pen more 🙂
August 25th, 2014 at 5:28 am
cant say i will love my boy doing that with my corpse!
August 26th, 2014 at 1:26 pm
That’s another way to look at it. 🙂 I was picturing him just growing the truck and hoping his father would be in it (alive) when it was finished. Anything else is rather creepy, yes.
August 26th, 2014 at 2:44 pm
I like the sudden gear-shift from quirky to pathos here. Always nice to set up reader expectations and then tear them down, abruptly 🙂
August 27th, 2014 at 2:32 am
Oh my! What a uniquely imaginative story of resurrection.