If...

If I were still giving writing seminars, I would use this photo for a warm up exercise and ask my students to create a story about one facet of this statue.

A man coming back with baskets of fish is greeted by a little boy with a boat. I don't know if the boy has a boat that is like his father's or even if the little boy is the fisherman's son, any fisherman's son or just a child playing near the water. Because he has a long jersey and a hat, I assume the day is cool.

The child doesn't look happy or unhappy. What is he thinking? Is he late for lunch and on his way home? Or has he skipped school to play with his boat?

The man looks tired, his shirt even in metal looks dirty, wrinkled. It was a good catch, a catch with which he  could feed his family for a few days, maybe even sell some of the fish. His expression is serious and he isn't looking down at the little boy.


What is he thinking of? His wife? A bath? A glass of beer? Did he come from a fishing family? Is he jealous that the boy still can go in any direction in life, but his fate is sealed to the sea? 

The cat: does it belong to the boy, the man or is it a stray hoping to cage a meal from a dropped fish?

The story lines are almost endless. A whole book of short stories could be written just using these three figures...but that would take longer than a warm up exercise for a writing seminar.