The Wandering Child

Prompt: Write A Short Story/Poem inspired by the picture:

Tom walked along a set of abandoned train tracks in the middle of the desert. He had done his research very carefully. Tonight was the night of the meteor shower. The answer to his question had to be here. He had been wandering the area for 20 minutes. He was about to give up when he noticed another figure in the distance.


It was a strange sight. In front of him was a small boy holding a teddy bear. A suitcase was by his side. A dog was next to him .

"I finally found you," Tom said.

"Did you?" the child asked. "Were you looking for a child in the middle of the desert?"

"Who do you think you are fooling? The tracks here have been deserted for years. There is no way a child would be wandering around here alone in the middle of the night in such a carefree fashion."

The kid shrugged. "I admit it can be farfetched but I wouldn't go so far as to say it was impossible."

"I know you are the oracle!"

The dog barked angrily but the kid put an arm gently on its head calming it down.

"Why take the form of a child?"

The boy smiled gently. "Is that the question you want to ask me?"

Tom immediately shook his head. "Of course not" he quickly added "You know what I want to ask you... you're omniscient."

"There is a difference between knowing and experiencing. Some things are better experienced."

"I want you to show me my future"

"Ah," the boy paused as if considering. "You know future events once learned cannot be easily forgotten."

"I need to know," Tom said determined.

"Ok." The boy nodded. He extended his arm out. "Give me your palm."

Tom reached forward then paused. "Wait... is there a cost for telling me my future?"

"Cost?" The boy looked amused. "There is no cost to this...just the burden of knowledge."

Tom gave the boy his hand. Images flooded his mind. He could see his past, present and future. Suddenly everything was clear. He knew what he needed to do.

He looked at the boy gratefully. "Thank you!"

The boy squeezed Tom's shoulder gently. "Remember knowing the future is different from experiencing it."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The boy smiled. "You have a long journey ahead of you Thomas Knight and a lot of hard work ahead. You better get started!"

Tom nodded. Saying goodbye to the Oracle, he began heading back towards civilization. There was a lot he still needed to do.

Word Count: 438 Words