100 Word Story - Peas in a Pod (Repost from Facebook, 3 October 2009)

Penelope and her sisters were roused from their sleep by the golden-green light filtering through their pod wall.
“M-morr-ning,” she yawned. She got the usual grumbles and murmurs in reply. The others didn’t like mornings as much as Penelope.
As the familiar sounds of machinery starting up for the day reached them, they heard the giants moving through the rows of pod plants around them, and shadows crisscrossed their view.
Something wasn’t right, though; suddenly, she remembered: “It’s Harvest Day!” she screamed. A hand’s shadow slid over the pod, blocking the light, and their pod was torn from its stem.

This was my second effort, written for Weekly Challenge #177 on the prompt of "Peas in a Pod", for the week of 9/12/2009. It was a pseudo-literal tale of anthropomorphic peas in their pods, about to be harvested by the farmers. I liked the way I was able to maintain some level of ambiguity and parallels with sci-fi/Matrix-style stories.

100 Word Stories - Hospitality (Repost from Facebook, 22 November 2009)

In some cultures, it is a terrible insult to your host if you eat all the food on your plate at dinner. It says, “You are a stingy and unwelcoming host.” In other cultures, it is great praise. It says, “You are a generous and gracious host.”
As the honored guest at a ceremony of the Korowai of Papua New Guinea, I do not know which custom they follow. Frankly, I could not care less how much of me they leave on their plates. It is hardly the debate to have with oneself in the broth, amongst the root vegetables.

This was my entry for the prompt of "Hospitality" from the 100 Word Stories Podcast, Weekly Challenge #187 (for Week of 11/29)