IAIN KELLY

THE HOUSEPLANT

I can’t say I don’t deserve it, after everything I put her through, but death seems harsh.

I don’t even like the thing. I only stuck it on the bookcase because she was coming round. She insisted I keep it. She had bought it for me after all, on our first anniversary.

And I thought she was smiling because the divorce papers were finally signed.

That sympathetic peck on the cheek as she was leaving, the hand lingering on my shoulder… They take on a new meaning now.

The tentacles of the plant wrap themselves tighter. The world goes dark.

penny-gadd-shelves
Copyright Penny Gadd

Written as part of the Friday Fictioneers challenge hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (more details HERE). The idea is to write a short story of 100 words based on the photo prompt (above).

To read stories of 100 words based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.

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84 responses to “THE HOUSEPLANT”

  1. Tannille Avatar
    Tannille

    Never trust someone who gift’s plants you never know the motive.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      If only he had known your wise advice!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  2. robertawrites235681907 Avatar
    robertawrites235681907

    Oooh, jolly good, Iain.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you Roberta 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. Colline Avatar
    Colline

    She gets her revenge! Well done.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you Colline

      Like

      Reply
  4. rickyracer42 Avatar
    rickyracer42

    I had a plant like that twisting around the room. Lol. It recently died. So I carried the whole pot outside. And it’s trying to live again!! Lolol.
    Lisa!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Keep an eye on it trying to get back inside the house!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. rickyracer42 Avatar
        rickyracer42

        👀😂

        Liked by 1 person

  5. allysnotebook Avatar
    allysnotebook

    I would have nightmares about that plant. It would have to be removed and dumped as far away from the house as possible . It reminds of a poisonous spider…toxic. 😦

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      It does have a sinister air to it! 🙂

      Like

      Reply
      1. allysnotebook Avatar
        allysnotebook

        I agree it certainly does 😀

        Liked by 1 person

  6. rochellewisoff Avatar
    rochellewisoff

    Dear Iain,

    She wasn’t vindictive or anything was she? Good one.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Hell hath no fury like… you know the rest 😉

      Like

      Reply
  7. J Hardy Carroll Avatar
    J Hardy Carroll

    I totally get where this story comes from. The way the plant is knocking the picture askew gives it a malevolent vibe.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      I don’t seem to be the only one who saw the picture that way too judging from the other responses!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  8. Susan A Eames Avatar
    Susan A Eames

    Yes, the photo definitely made me think along the line of Triffids. Nice one, Iain.

    Susan A Eames at
    Travel, Fiction and Photos

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Or Little Shop of Horrors 🙂 Thanks Susan

      Like

      Reply
  9. patrickprinsloo Avatar
    patrickprinsloo

    I like the succinct final sentence.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you Patrick

      Like

      Reply
  10. magickmermaid Avatar
    magickmermaid

    Excellent suspense! Off to water my houseplants before they get any ideas! 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Be nice to them! 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  11. granonine Avatar
    granonine

    Well, my word! You must have been quite dreadful to her for her plant to commit homicide 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Clearly the plant saw something that it didn’t like! Thanks Linda

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  12. ceayr Avatar
    ceayr

    The Judas Kiss.
    I like it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      You have to do these things with a bit of style.

      Like

      Reply
  13. Bela Johnson Avatar
    Bela Johnson

    Get rid of the plant. It’s a reminder of too much pain, unless you like that sort of thing 😉 Some do.

    On another note, what a beautifully written poem.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you Bela

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  14. scr4pl80 Avatar
    scr4pl80

    Of course! I would expect nothing less from you, Iain. My husband gave me a plant when we first started dating. He said, “As this grows, so will our love grow.” The plant lasted through 5 moves and 10 years…we’re still together but the plant passed away after our last move 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Lucky for you Janet, you outlived the plant – who knows what it may have had in store…! 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  15. Dale Avatar
    Dale

    Beware the gift from the scorned…
    Well done, Iain.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      He should’ve guessed really! Thanks Dale

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  16. Björn Rudberg (brudberg) Avatar
    Björn Rudberg (brudberg)

    In the end she didn’t need to get divorced, sounds like she could have been a widow instead.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Maybe she is just a sadist 😉

      Like

      Reply
  17. bearmkwa Avatar
    bearmkwa

    ouuu, ouch! That one just squeezes painfully. Great story.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  18. Mike Avatar
    Mike

    Iain… well told, I missed the picture being moved. I am impressed

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks Mike

      Like

      Reply
  19. Sascha Darlington Avatar
    Sascha Darlington

    I dunno. If she bought that for him on their *first* anniversary, she must have always had plans of getting rid of him. It may have been a good thing he put her through what he did while he had time.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Maybe she just wanted a bit of insurance in case things went wrong.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Sascha Darlington Avatar
        Sascha Darlington

        🙂 Not very trusting…unless she intuited that he would be a man behaving badly.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Iain Kelly Avatar
        Iain Kelly

        Maybe best to assume that from the start and be pleasantly surprised if he turned out not to be 😉

        Liked by 1 person

  20. Russell Gayer Avatar
    Russell Gayer

    Now, she’ll likely get the money (if he had any left) and the house. She can even save the plant for her next husband.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Called a win-win I think 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  21. msjadeli Avatar
    msjadeli

    What a deliciously evil story.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. msjadeli Avatar
        msjadeli

        You’re welcome.

        Liked by 1 person

  22. Alana Mautone (@RamblinGarden) Avatar
    Alana Mautone (@RamblinGarden)

    You can’t trust houseplant gifts, especially if they don’t have flowering habits. There is always a motive. Always.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      You are very suspicious of people!

      Like

      Reply
  23. neilmacdon Avatar
    neilmacdon

    I can almost see the little Trojans hiding inside

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks Neil

      Like

      Reply
  24. Nobbinmaug Avatar
    Nobbinmaug

    Hell hath no fury like the plant of a woman scorned.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Haha! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  25. draliman Avatar
    draliman

    It’s best to get all the paperwork out of the way before knocking off your ex-other half 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Keeps things nice and tidy 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  26. Keith's Ramblings Avatar
    Keith’s Ramblings

    As soon as I saw that plant I knew something sinister was going on – so I ignored it! Nice one Iain.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Good advice – look the other way!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  27. subroto Avatar
    subroto

    Sounds like a case for the Ex Files. Was her name Ivy by any chance?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      It would make a classic episode now you mention it!

      Like

      Reply
  28. Sandra Avatar
    Sandra

    She doesn’t take any prisoners, does she? I wonder what he ever did.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      I wonder if she has over-reacted a little! 😉

      Like

      Reply
  29. Brenda's Thoughts Avatar
    Brenda’s Thoughts

    A clever take on the creepy plant! I don’t think you want to mess with her, but death does seem a bit harsh, or is it? Maybe, the plant knows best. =)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Should plants be allowed to make that choice? An ethical dilemma! 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  30. theministryofshrawleywalks Avatar
    theministryofshrawleywalks

    The platification of the woman, he will never be rid of her.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Not the reminder he was hoping for I’m sure.

      Like

      Reply
  31. James McEwan Avatar
    James McEwan

    My goodness, you should not have divorced the woman in green.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      She doesn’t like to be betrayed it seems! Thanks James.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  32. Laurie Bell Avatar
    Laurie Bell

    a ill-intentioned gift… She did indeed have plans for him beyond divorce papers…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      I wonder if she has had plans like these before, perhaps with other ex-husbands!

      Like

      Reply
  33. JoHawkTheWriter Avatar
    JoHawkTheWriter

    Sneaky, vindictive woman. I bet she squeezed everything out of him in the divorce as well.

    Like

    Reply
  34. plaridel Avatar
    plaridel

    he should have gotten rid of it before it was too late.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      It seems he didn’t suspect anything like this happening!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  35. Woman walking Max Avatar
    Woman walking Max

    A shiver down the spine story, never trust a creeping plant. Well done.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you

      Like

      Reply
  36. lisarey1990 Avatar
    lisarey1990

    They should have been more careful! She had a mission!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks Lisa – I guess in hindsight he will be thinking that! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  37. Abhijit Ray Avatar
    Abhijit Ray

    She is not there, but her memory is stil survives through the plant. May be you should have let her take the plant with her.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Perhaps she will still end up with the plant too!

      Like

      Reply
  38. Bernadette Braganza Avatar
    Bernadette Braganza

    Ouch. Talk about an vindictive ex.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you

      Like

      Reply
  39. 4963andypop Avatar
    4963andypop

    Little Bookcase of Horrors! Creepy divorcee payback!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  40. patriciaruthsusan Avatar
    patriciaruthsusan

    Your plant is much scarier than mine, Iain. This sounds like one of the old “Twilight Zone” shows . This one is deadly. I wonder if it will go on to kill again. Well done. 🙂 — Suzanne

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      I think it will depend on her, and if she wants it to kill again!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

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