October 11, 2024
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction, Uncategorized
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction
He awoke in the middle of the night and crept downstairs to find a pair of elves making shoes in his workshop, which was odd because he wasn’t a cobbler.
He turned on the light and they froze, tools raised in their delicate fingers. Nobody said anything for a long time.
Finally he said, “Just clean up after yourselves and make sure the door’s locked when you leave.” He turned out the light. The elves resumed their work.
He never found out why the elves were there but they did leave him a beautiful pair of loafers.
“Belgium-5951 – Shoemakers Symbol” by archer10 (Dennis) is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
My first very short story collection, The Mountain’s Shadow is available now from Amazon and Smashwords!
Everyday Drabbles © 2024 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Have a fabulous day!
October 10, 2024
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction, Uncategorized
Crime Scene, Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fae, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction, Horror
The grisly crime scene was the worst I’d seen in twenty years of work as a forensic investigator. A dozen fae lay restrained and exsanguinated. Golden blood lay in shiny pools and dried patches all over the room. The Court would have a fit when they found out.
Faerie blood has potent magical properties. We were likely dealing with a wizard trying to take a shortcut or a vampire looking to get high. It would be a difficult case.
But as I surveyed the crime scene I couldn’t help but think: They’re never going to clean up all this glitter.
“Gold Glitter 4” by megforce1 is marked with CC0 1.0.
My first very short story collection, The Mountain’s Shadow is available now from Amazon and Smashwords!
Everyday Drabbles © 2024 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Have a fabulous day!
October 9, 2024
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction, Uncategorized
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction
Loot the bodies. It was my mentor’s first rule, and I hated him for it at first. The old man explained that we weren’t soldiers, and we weren’t heroes. We were adventurers. We solved problems that the other guilds wouldn’t.
Sometimes, the only path forward was with the key in a dead foreman’s pocket, or the only clue was the scrap of paper clutched in a dead assassin’s hand.
And the rings and gold pouches didn’t hurt either. It got easier every time.
But I was unprepared when the corpse’s hand grasped my wrist and dead eyes reopened glaring red.
“Wandering Sashiko Bag Set (2)” by Saké Puppets is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
My first very short story collection, The Mountain’s Shadow is available now from Amazon and Smashwords!
Everyday Drabbles © 2024 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Have a fabulous day!
October 8, 2024
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction, Uncategorized
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction, hugh
The teacup was delicate and beautiful. It was a luminous white decorated with tiny pale blue flowers. I held it awkwardly, terrified that it would shatter in my hand. I needn’t have worried.
“What a beautiful tea set,” I said, holding out my cup for the hostess to pour from the matching pot.
“Thank you,” she said. “I made it myself. It’s a little hobby of mine.” She poured gracefully, not spilling a drop.
“That’s amazing! What material do you use?”
“It’s bone china,” the necromancer said as the cup handle flexed and began to wrap itself around my wrist.
“Royal Copenhagen Teacup” by Didriks is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
My first very short story collection, The Mountain’s Shadow is available now from Amazon and Smashwords!
Everyday Drabbles © 2024 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Have a fabulous day!
October 7, 2024
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction, Uncategorized
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction, Horror
It was not the sort of house people whispered about or looked away from when they walked by. It was a beautiful cape cod, with spotless white siding and an impeccably manicured lawn.
If you asked the neighbors, they wouldn’t be able say who lived there. But lights went on and off inside at the correct time. Smoke came from the chimney, and the garden changed with the seasons.
Sometimes, someone would ring the doorbell, and the front door would open on a dark and silent foyer. If they stepped inside, the house would snap the door shut behind them.
“house with striped awnings” by striatic is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
My first very short story collection, The Mountain’s Shadow is available now from Amazon and Smashwords!
Everyday Drabbles © 2024 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Have a fabulous day!
October 6, 2024
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction, Uncategorized
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction
We’d been rivals since we were children. In school, sports, and even games. We didn’t hate each other, but he could never let me win, and I was the same way with him.
This continued all through high school. I read a lot of fan fiction in those days, and when I came across the ‘enemies to lovers’ trope, and it put things into sharp relief for me.
One day I worked up the nerve to ask him out, and he accepted.
We went on one date, but it was a disaster. There isn’t a way to win a kiss.
“adversary” by nancyesmith is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
My first very short story collection, The Mountain’s Shadow is available now from Amazon and Smashwords!
Everyday Drabbles © 2024 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Have a fabulous day!
October 5, 2024
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction, Uncategorized
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction, Halloween, Horror, Vampire
The Vampire came, and the men of the city were powerless to stop him. There was nothing in them that was strong enough to resist his influence, much less his power.
They had grown weak, distant from one another. He wriggled in through the cracks and took what he wanted, which was everything.
The men hid behind symbols that stood for nothing now but their own avarice, carrying mystical weapons that were mere superstition.
From his new throne he laughed at the weakness of men. But when he called their women to him, they had stakes hidden behind their backs.
“Study of a Vampire Bat” by Samuel Howitt shared under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
My first very short story collection, The Mountain’s Shadow is available now from Amazon and Smashwords!
Everyday Drabbles © 2024 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Have a fabulous day!
October 4, 2024
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction, Uncategorized
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction, Halloween
He dwelt in darkness under the earth. He lived in the lower regions and hunted eyeless fish in cold subterranean lakes. He was content for a long time.
Then the noises came from above. He heard digging, and drilling, and strange voices that seemed to call to him. As they grew closer, his curiosity became insatiable.
He found himself climbing up winding stairs and through artificial waterways, until he climbed an iron ladder and found himself in a vast stretch of light and noise.
The surface creatures were strange, ugly things. But he did his best not to be afraid.
“Manhole” by Joe Shlabotnik is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
My first very short story collection, The Mountain’s Shadow is available now from Amazon and Smashwords!
Everyday Drabbles © 2024 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Have a fabulous day!
October 3, 2024
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction, Uncategorized
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction
The traveling preacher won the hearts and minds of the locals with his fire and brimstone rhetoric. He made a place for himself by making friends and giving them cushy jobs in his church organization.
Soon hehad a gang of loyal enforcers, but he needed something more to fully take over.
He explained one chilly autumn Sunday that witches were to blame for their faded rustbelt town’s troubles. Once he whipped up the crowd and they chose a victim, they’d be his forever.
But the Crones had protected the town for generations, and his cronyism was no match for them.
“DSC07252 – Our Lady Of Sorrows Chapel” by archer10 (Dennis) is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
My first very short story collection, The Mountain’s Shadow is available now from Amazon and Smashwords!
Everyday Drabbles © 2024 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Have a fabulous day!
October 2, 2024
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction, Uncategorized
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction
After I started having strange, sudden pains, I went to the ER and they took an x-ray. After demanding to know if I had ingested or ‘inserted’ anything, the doctor handed me the tablet.
A human hand was growing out of my torso, skeletal fingers distinct against my ribs.
“We’d like you to stay for observation,” he said. I agreed, silently fretting that this was too weird for insurance to cover.
Every day, the skeleton grew a little more, sprouting an arm, then a shoulder. Nothing the doctors tried worked, but eventually I left the hospital a whole new person.
“chest x-ray half” by Aidan Jones is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
My first very short story collection, The Mountain’s Shadow is available now from Amazon and Smashwords!
Everyday Drabbles © 2024 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Have a fabulous day!
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