I’ve had this photograph sitting on my computer for more than six months. It’s of a den my partner and I found in the woods while we were out with my son in the summer. At the time I found it enchanting, as I always do when I find these secret places that so strongly remind me of childhood. 

I don’t normally like to put photos of my son out on social media, mostly because I feel he’s too young to understand what it means and so too young to ask permission from. But you can’t see his features in this photo, and he has changed a lot since then anyway. It’s helpful to have a little figure in the picture to get the scale of the thing.

Later in the summer a wild fire swept through the entire area where we saw this little den. We’ve not been back since it happened so I do not know if it survived the blaze. 

I’m writing this as we prepare for Christmas, another time that is intimately bound up with the excitements and disappointments of childhood. The picture reminds me that some of the most alluring mysteries of childhood, some of the things that may make the best fuel for a good story, are fleeting, and rapidly lost to time and events beyond our control.

Who do you think built this hideaway?

How did they build it and why?

I’m not a huge fan of creative exercises, so it’s not my habit to tell people what to do with these prompts. There are lots of options – a scene, some flash fiction, a short story, an idea for a short film or a physical piece of art. If you do have a go with this one and would like to drop the result in the comments please do so. I would be very interested to see what people make of these so please do link to blog posts or comment below.

If you like the photos featured in these creative prompt posts you may be interested in my latest collection of prints and other things on Redbubble which feature a small selection of my best shots.

Thank you for reading. I also write, make art and films. You can read my short fantasy stories here on Simily. If you like these prompts and want to get a copy of a free short book of them I wrote, and to hear more about my writing projects please join my mailing list here. You can see my films at my YouTube channel here. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see you could buy me a KoFi, and I also have a Patreon Page.