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The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.
PHOTO PROMPT © Shaktiki Sharma
Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100
WHITHER THOU GOEST
Obed grunted and pushed but could not budge the heavy stone to grind flour.
“You’re too small, son.” Ruth handed him a bundle of sheaves and a mallet. “Here, thresh these for me.”
His eyes shone like starlight reflecting off the sea. Her heart swelled with love for him leaving no room for loneliness.
He pounded the barley kernels. “Tell me about my father.”
Obed’s face bore traces of both Mahlon and Mahlon’s Uncle Boaz, her beloved men, dead and buried. How do I explain Hebrew law regarding husbands and widows to a three-year-old?
“To begin with, you had two.”
.
.
.
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple 
I like that. Going to be an interesting conversation. Thanks for the link.
THis is going to be difficult to write a story to. Nothing popped to mind straight away today.
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Dear Al,
It is a challenging picture this week. I hope it will get those imaginations spinning. Glad you liked my story. 😀
Thank you and Shalom,
Rochelle
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I found both the story and the back story to be very interesting. Though I feel a bit like the three year old, I too would like to hear the story 🙂
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Dear Dahlia,
I think I’d like to know how Ruth will put the story in terms a three year old can understand. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yes me too! If she ever completes the story, do let me know 🙂
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Thanks for providing the link. I had to click it to fully understand the story, which is beautifully written, Rochelle
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Dear Neil,
The Book of Ruth has always been a favorite of mine in the Bible. But it’s one that left me wanting to know more. Since there isn’t any that I know of, I wrote it. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I too wrote a book about some historical characters when I ran out of facts. I know the temptation
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I love historical fiction. So much fun to tweak history.
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I love how you give people substance in so few words.
And make the reader care about them.
Also, m’lady, your ability to communicate the background atmosphere is unmatched.
Superb.
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Dear CE,
Your lovely comment has rendered me speechless with a smile. Thank you very much.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I have to agree with Mr. ayr… And, is it weird that I got goosebumps on the last line?
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Dear Dale,
I would never say you were weird for getting goosebumps reading any part of my story. I take it as a compliment. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Too kind… and it should be taken as such!
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I remember the story from Sunday School. But as ever, you managed to weave a different take into an old story. Very nicely done, Rochelle.
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Dear Sandra,
It’s a challenge to take a well known Bible story and turn it into historical fiction. But the Book of Ruth ends with the birth of Obed. I always like to weave what if’s and extra scenes into stories and movies. I’m pleased that this worked. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Good story based on ancient religious history, Rochelle. Thanks for the link Excellent writing as always. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Dear Suzanne,
There’s little in the Bible concerning Ruth’s lineage until we meet her great-grandson David. I had fun filling in a tiny blank. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You’re so skilled at bringing history to life. Lovely.
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Dear Claire,
What a wonderful compliment from an author I admire. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Without the religious background I still enjoyed this as an intriguing story. I want to hear how Ruth explained the rest in a way the young child would understand! Good writing as always.
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Dear Iain,
Your comment is very encouraging for I wasn’t going for a religious story. 😉 I’d like to hear Ruth explain it, too. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Wow, Great story.
Randy
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Many thanks, Randy. That means a lot.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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That’s a beautiful story! And thank you for the link, it helped to know the back story.
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Dear Rashmi,
Thank you very much. Glad the link helped and that you enjoyed my story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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It would have been a beautiful story to hear, I think. And I am delighted you wrote this to help explain the photo, as it confuddled me looking at it alone. A Beautiful Beginning for this prompt :)…now I must put my thinking cap on…
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Dear Morgan,
Sometimes a confusing photo can spawn more of a variety of stories. 😉 At least that’s the result I was going for. Thank you re my story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yes! How DO you explain?!? So, only the first child carries on the name of the deceased first husband ? Subsequent (if there are any) children are considered the children of the man who married a widow?
You often bring out questions I’ve pondered! I wish educators took that kind of approach. Present a scenario then show how it illustrates a law or tradition!
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Excellent. It’s interesting to me how different societies (and different authors) handle bastardy.
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Dear J Hardy,
And it depends on your definition there of. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Love when you have me reading material to fully comprehend the story… a great revival of the past.. some flesh and bone to scripture… great writing. This one was not easy…
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Dear Björn,
There are some who don’t care to follow a link to learn more. Nonetheless, some inquiring minds do want to know more. Thank you for your affirming comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Hi Rochelle. I continue to have trouble adding the InLinkz logo…what am I doing wrong-o? 😦
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Dear Morgan,
I’m not really sure how to go about adding the link to your blog. To be honest, I’ve never had to do it as a participant, only as the dashboard controller.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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That is an incredibly well-written story, Rochelle. Excellent ending.
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Thank you very much, Shawna. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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What a perfect story, full of warmth and love with a hint of romantic mystery thrown in. Wonderfully well constructed too, just giving the reader enough to work out what’s happened. Lovely tale Rochelle.
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Dear Lynn,
Thank you for such a wonderful comment. I did enjoy writing this one. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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My pleasure as always, Rochelle 🙂
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U were right, now I cant think what to write cause I know what it is…😕
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Dear Shaktiki,
I’m not sure what I was right about. I have found that it’s often hard to come up with a story for my own photos. Perhaps it’s because we know the true stories behind our own snapshots. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Exactly this u were right about. Hope i do come up with something not very related to the real thing. 😊
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Beautifully written as always. Like others, I would love to know how she explained it!
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Dear Clare,
I didn’t think it through quite that far. Although in that day and culture, her explanation wouldn’t be as shocking as it might be today. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Beautifully written!
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Thank you. 😀
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You are a very talented lady. You do make every word count and with your challenge you try to teach me the same. Therefore I thank you. And now I would love to read further, please. 🙂
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Dear Bridget,
Who knows? Perhaps I’ll write a longer story. I don’t know, but I’ve learned never to say never. 😉 Thank you for your glowing words.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I was not familiar with the Biblical story before so thanks for the background link. You’ve carried it forwards beautifully. Love it.
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Dear Farwa,
I’m glad you enjoyed my story. Thank you for stopping by.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I have read all the comments and have now forgotten my comment 🙂. But as usual I love how you weave your stories. Mike
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Dear Mike,
I’m glad you enjoyed my story. Thank you for saying so.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Tricky prompt this week! Your take is excellent and intriguing.
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Dear Samantha,
Hopefully, tricky prompt = imaginative stories. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Like the others say, great story! I wonder if the entire story will make for a religious themed movie?
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Dear Kevin,
It might make an interesting movie. Life after the Book. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Welcome
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Bible fanfic, eh? 😉 Seriously, this is a wonderful, atmospheric tale. I can’t repeat it often enough: this is how history should be told. Not by memorizing dates. By looking at the people, what they loved and what they hated. That way their historical deeds are much easier to understand.
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Dear Gabriele,
Bible fanfic. 😀 Love it. I was never good with dates and didn’t do well in history. Who knew? Thank you for such a wonderful comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Take two, they’re small. “But I gotta tell ya, folks …”
Interesting, though, how it all worked together being as how the descendants of Judah (Boaz) and Lot (Ruth) finally reunited in the family tree.
Five out of five Oxanas.
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Dear Cuzzin Notnek,
Five out of five Oxanas?
At any rate, I’m glad you liked the story. Hey! It coulda happened, right? Of course right!
Shalom,
Cuzzin Shelley
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Well, Oxana’s husband is Boaz, right? And she met him kind of in that way.
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Slaps her forehead. “Ah Bach…or ah, Boaz as it were. Finnegan begin again. 😉
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Aw this is a cute story.
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Thank you, Melinda. 😀
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You’re welcome 🙂 Do you happen to know what those two plaster things in the foreground are?
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Dear Melinda,
Shaktiki told me but the best description comes from Yarnspinnerr – Traditional hand operated grinding mills are called as chakkis in Hindi. Till date there is no ban or tax on its usage in India.
I didn’t know either. I like a photo that fires the imagination and inspires unusual stories. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Really? They are yarnspinners? I had no idea. How cool. Thank you for letting me know. I’ve been trying to figure out what they are since I saw the image. Though, I’m sad they’re not mini alien ships.
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Oh dear, apparently I bungled that explanation. Yarnspinnerr is the Friday Fictioneer who explained what they were. The items in the photo are hand operated grinding mills used for grinding flour. So they’re neither yarnspinners nor alien ship…but in your story, they can be anything you want them to be. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Wonderful, Rochelle! I always learn a little something from you.
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Dear Alicia,
That makes me smile. Always happy to share.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Oh I love this story Rochelle.
The twist on Ruth’s story is brilliant.
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Dear Chioma,
I’ve always loved the Book of Ruth, so it was fun to ‘visit’ her a few years later. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I just reposted a 100 word piece of flash fiction, Her Lips, that I wrote and posted in June 2012 for a photo prompt 100-word FridayFictioneers challenge hosted by Madison Woods. Looking for the challenge I found your Friday Fictioneers challenge, and brought it to the attention of my readers. Sorry I did not enter this week’s challenge. Steve
https://simplicitylane.wordpress.com/2016/09/15/her-lips-100-word-flash-fiction/
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Dear Steve,
In October 2012 Madison decided to move on and passed Friday Fictioneers onto me. The drill is still the same. I post the prompt on Wednesday each week. You may find a few familiar faces and a few new ones.
I don’t remember your story but I did write a story for the June29 raspberry photo prompt that Madison posted. I’m guessing your story was for that same picture.
Thanks for sharing and coming by. Feel free to join in anytime.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I’ll look for your Friday Fictioneers posts. I did not repost the 2012 rapberry picture, as it was Madison’s.
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raspberry…not hip-hop fruit 🙂
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I wondered. I was pretty new back then and it took me a while to get the hang of reading and commenting. I was also on blogspot which IMHO isn’t as user friendly as WordPress.
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That’s a good way to start.
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Gotta start somewhere. Thank you, Alice,
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Its a hard task to explain such things to a three years old. i would love to know how she did that. Lovely story though makes you ask for more.
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Dear Indira,
Remember explaining the ways of men and women to your children the first time? 😉 I’m sure Ruth felt as awkward as any new mother. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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:). In India S word was a taboo in our time and now also for some. You learn whatever you learn from friends or somewhere else. Parents loved to pretend their children are innocent. No one explained anything to us.:)
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Thanks for the link – that will be quite the explanation for a three year old. Lovely piece!
I’m starting to wonder if I’m the only one who didn’t know what those weird round things with the sticks were 🙂
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Dear Ali,
I’m sure she broke it down for him in ways he could understand. I remember the first time I had to explain the birds and the bees to my eldest who was four at the time and wanted to know how his new brother had gotten in my tummy. I was as honest as I could be. At first he grimaced and said, “EEEEW, I’m never doing that!” Then he cocked his head, looked very thoughtful and said, “I guess you and Dad have done that twice.”
I didn’t know what those things were either, but I had the advantage of asking the photographer. 😉
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I really want to hear the explanation too, sounds like an interesting
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Story
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Dear Laurie,
I guess this one will have to remain a mystery. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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This was a surprise Rochelle! You stole a march over me!
Nice. So much in so little. At the end of it, your imagination takes flight!
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Dear Sabina,
I’ve never expanded a Bible story before, but Ruth has always been a favorite of mine. Thank you for your kind words.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Paulette,
My mother’s name was Ruth, likely name after this biblical heroine. Boaz was also the name of the left pillar on the porch of King Solomon’s temple, and denotes strength. You have a tremendous talent for making these characters come to life. Thankful, there were not telemarketers in their time to mispronounce their names.
Berry goot,
Rushnell Daher
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Well that’s a conversation (probably one-sided) that you won’t fit into 100 words Rochelle. Thanks for hosting #FridayFictioneers
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Dear Carol,
You never know, Ruth was a resourceful lady. Thank you for stopping by and mentioning us on Twitter. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Querida Rochelle,
You never disappoint. It’s amazing the way you wove your words in this one.
Yes, this was a difficult photo prompt. I took it to a place from a police story my
hubby told me about. I changed it to fiction but this can happen to anyone with the
way drugs are so rampant. Thank you for hosting #FridayFictioneers
Abrazos,
Isadora 😎
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Querida Isadora,
It is a difficult prompt. I’d hoped that it would fire imaginations. As always it doesn’t matter what you’re looking at but what you see. 😉 Glad you liked my story. Thank you for your kind words.
Shalom y abrazos,
Rochelle
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I love this line …. ” it doesn’t matter what you’re looking at but what you see.” I am going to look at the photo prompts in that way from now on. Gracias … for the direction. XOXO 😎
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Delightful. Once again you’ve brought history to life, giving it a human face. I love how Ruth remembers both husbands with love.
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Dear Margaret,
Thank you so much for your kind and lovely comments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Fascinating!
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Thank you. 😀
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