It started to look good, water and soil had been dealt with. Woods and weed blended well with beasts, but it had been six days of hard and excruciating labor.
He sighed, looking at his beautiful creation. Now he yearned for sleep. Next week he was needed in a parallel dimension.
He snapped a picture with his smartphone and shared it on Instagram, added the hashtag
#gardener_wanted, and waited.
Seconds ticked by and no one responded. God hummed impatiently but finally that slacker Adam clicked “like”, and problem was solved.
Earth was in good hands; he’d be back for Armageddon.
Copyright – Douglas M. MacIlroy
Six years ago I wrote to the same picture, and it was great to revisit and read my own entry from that time. I thought I do a bit of editing and present you with the same story. I think there just a few of us left from that time when I look at the comments.
Friday Fictioneers is one of the best ways I know to train my skills in writing, thank you Rochelle for keeping up the work.
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December 12, 2012
Björn Rudbergs writings 
A very creative story, I really enjoyed it! I’m not sure Adam was the right guy. haha
I’m sure that he was not the perfect gardener…
The guy will just eat the apples. Lazy good for nothing
Maybe he might bring God back for a nice armageddon…
Oh God, what have you done now!? 🙂
The worst mistake ever… and we all know it.
Ha ha ha…a modern day version?
Very modern…
The sorry slob who clicked like? No wonder…
We know him well don’t we… armageddon is coming to town.
Yep, that Adam, or at least his decedents, sure have made a mess of things. Maybe Armageddon is coming soon to clean it all up (it sure seems like it!), but then have you ever read the book Good Omens? I picture it more like that 😉
Have not read that… maybe I should
It’s a great book. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman coauthored it.
Just a click away.
I think that he should have vetted the applicants better… I actually think the snake would have been better.
Ha! That was extremely creative. I took a slightly similar route, btw, in spirit at least 🙂
I think stories of creation will be common this week
Ha, very enjoyable! Adam mucked it up just a bit, mind. The slacker 🙂
He did, and we have picked up his mantle…
I think Adam gets a bad rap.
Most of us guys, if alone in a garden with the only woman in the world, could be led into temptation.
Fun story, Bjorn.
I think I agree… maybe most women would be tempted by the only guy too.
Adam must have been busy liking other posts
All the good gardeners went to other dimensions.
A picture is truly worth a thousand words, but you didn’t need that many to tell your story! Nice flash back to your earlier writing.
Thank you… it was a nice revisit to my old story.
Bjorn, I love where you took this. Very nicely done. Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays Back 🙂
Quite an amusing piece, Björn.
Thank you Mandie
I hope he’s not going to populate that parallel universe this time.
The parallel universe is a perfect Eden with a great gardener.
Dear Björn,
I laughed out loud for this one. Creative and imaginative. Love it.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thank you, I had forgotten this story myself… but I did remember the picture.
Thinking about computer technology before Creation? That just messes with my head 🙂
Ancient technology… but they say that Instagram is divine.
🙂
This was a hoot, Björn. No.. not the best choice, after all…
darn, history repeating itself.
Ha! That’s the second time today that slacker, Adam, has come up.
I don’t often get inspired by a photo, I find them distracting or overwhelming. But sometimes I check these out and the idea is there. I liked the revisions from your original story.
The best and most instructive element of the prompt is the word limit I think.
Ah! it is god who is going to sleep giving charge to Adam, the womaniser!
So, this is how the whole thing started. 😉
Very creative and a fun read.
Loved it – especially your concise description of Adam!
Watch out Eve, Adams on his way!
Well at least he didn’t seem to have any prerequisites concerning deity worship this time around.. Good write.
Hi, visited your earlier post on the same prompt. Addition of ‘parallel Dimension’ adds more layers to this…different universe, different habitable planets… God does seem very busy and relieved to find Adam taking up his job on this planet, finally 😉
I always dread it when I see “God” on the caller ID. He’s always got some little task for me. But today, I got off easy and only had to read and comment on your post. Hard to believe we’ve both been doing this so long. I’ve enjoyed and appreciated your friendship all these years.
I haven’t been with FF for six years so this was new to me. Great story 🙂
Very enjoyable!
Bjorn, I always thought something created the earth then just walked away. You’ve confirmed it.
The funny thing here: at first I thought the title was “In God Hands”; and sure enough, the tale was told. Adam needed a better hoe.
Love the sense of being there when the Earth was being created, plus the benefit of Instagram. Sadly Adam and his kind are not up to the job, are we ? Good writing.
Love the story and the sense of hope.
Interesting use of anachronism. Each generation, culture etc, always uses its own images to tell stories of the past. Western literature is filled with examples of retelling tales of the past from a current perspective.
Leave it to Adam, after all what could go wrong?
When the gardeners dug too deeply they found shiny things. Things that seemed like gold is better than golden flowers or golden fields. Diamonds were worth more than the twinkle in a child’s eyes. Silver was worn more easily than the silver on the head of an old, wrinkled person. Oil, black gold, and coal kept the world moving better and warmer than any old unreliable wind or sun. And power over other gardeners was far more intoxicating than any spirit they could conger.
Yuletide greetings to one of the good gardeners!
Ha! Ha! The photo also solves the question – does God like PC or Mac 😉
Fun take.