“What’s wrong with its eye?” Ellie scowled.
Malcolm squinted. “It melted, I think.”
Ellie considered. There were many stumps with faces, and most were odd-shaped. But he wanted to touch this one, which was unusual enough for someone who did not like touching anything, and he also felt the stump’s warning – if there can be such a thing – to touch it “gently.” Like it’d hurt.
“How old is it?”
“6,000 or so,” Malcolm shrugged.
“So why your Paps still keeping it?” Most oldies have been smelted. Ent energy was the best.
“He tried,” Malcolm pointed out. “Now he calls it Bob.”
For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers
Photo credit: Dale Rogerson
Na'ama Yehuda 
“Ent energy was the best”. Glorious!
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Yay! Glad you liked! 🙂 Me love ents.
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Glad I wasn’t the only one to see a face in the stump else I’d have felt a little peculiar!
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It’s a melted face, so perhaps not immediately discerned but certainly a face nonetheless! 🙂
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Fabulous, my friend. And Yay Bob for surviving the great meltage!
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Thank you, my friend! And … yes, sometimes smelting/melting misses the true potential of energy – connection and perhaps even friendship. I think Bob is the best.
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Bob is wonderful. And yes indeed…
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Yeah, he didn’t melt, he didn’t smelt, he just stood its ground and earned a friend. A bunch’a friends, me say! (Love the photo, BTW! I’m so glad they didn’t get rid of their Bob!)
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He earned his spot and his friends. So glad you love the photo – I thought it was special.
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It was indeed!
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I hate that Bob was felled, but I’m glad he lives on in some capacity. Dale’s image is generating some fabulous stories.
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Yes, whenever he was felled, he was later doomed for smelting/melting, but he fought that off and lived to tell the tale .. 🙂
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So good. I like the name too- Bob.
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I know, right? It was just the name for him. Came up in my mind and would not budge. So Bob it is!
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Very apt.
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Right, yah? Things do name themselves, often enough. My sewing machine’s name is Esther, for example.
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Lol! Mine is plain Singer. 🥲
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Singer is a very respectable name for a sewing machine! Mine is a mini one who thinks she is full size and owns it! 🙂
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Haha! So cool.
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🙂 here’s to sewing with an attitude! (to her credit, Esther sewed a LOT during the pandemic, much of it for the needy when what was needed wasn’t handy)
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That’s very good of Esther. I have only been using my machine for repairs as threading the needle has become difficult due to vision issues.
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Yeah, Esther is a good egg. Vision stuff and needle threading is an issue for many. Some find that a simple threader does the job quite well. That said, this also calls for some acuity, so there it is …
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Yes, that’s true. I’ll try to use mine more because I loved to create stuff!
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Yeah! And it works wonders for too-long-sleeves and hems! 🙂
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Exactly
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🙂
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🙏🏼
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Very good! Love that they named the old guy!
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Thanks, Nancy! Might as well give him a name, me thinks. If an Ent can withstand your smelting attempt, better make him a friend … 😉 And, anyway, he’s so old, just IMAGINE the stories he can tell and the gossip he can impart! 🙂
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Great story. Lucky for Bob.
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Thanks, Will! Bob’s the GOAT … 😉
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Na’ama Y’karah,
Once you name something, you can’t just destroy it. It’s family. 😉 Cute story. Made me smile.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I’m glad you liked! And yes, naming something gives it a connection that becomes personal. It is no longer “a stump”, or “a dog”, or “a cow” or “a car” … but an individual thing with its unique characteristics. As I noted in a comment to Sadje, some things name themselves. Like my sewing machine, who insisted her name is Esther. 🙂
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nice to meet Bob…6000yrs old…wow!!!
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He’s an oldie, that’s for sure, but in Ent years, probably not more than middle aged … 😉
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Love old Bob! 🥰
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Yes, he’s a good old Ent!
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I’m sure Bob would be smiling if he could!
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He is smiling, actually… It is an Entish smile, devoid of upcurved lines but no less fully of myrth
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I expect ‘Bob’ will live for another millennium.
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Me hope so, too!
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i didn’t see the face until you pointed it out. well done.
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Ha! It is fun this way with photos, isn’t it? What someone sees, becomes what others can see, too! 🙂
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