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Everyday Drabbles #609: Fairies

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From his hiding spot by the stairwell, Keith watched the two fairies exit the elevator.
“Are you just going to hover like that?” Buttercup asked. “Someone will see you.”
Anise snorted. Her unicorn face didn’t look like a mask. “I am not touching that carpet, even through shoes.”
“Fine, let’s get this over with. This realm makes my wings itch.” The tiny fairy pressed her whole weight against a door buzzer. The door opened, and the pair went inside.
“Hey, kids! How you boys doing?” Anise asked before the door closed.
The next day, the apartment they visited had vanished.

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Everyday Drabbles #608: Beanstalk

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It was meant as a gesture of peace between the giants and the humans: a grand beanstalk to serve as a path between two worlds.
But the giants built their cities out of magic and cloud stuff. Terrestrial architecture was never their concern. The seeds were planted in a castle courtyard without concern for what their magic would do to stone.
The first beanstalks were gifts from a long-forgotten ally, and the giants didn’t truly understand them.
So they were as surprised as anyone when roots went wild, cracking walls and knocking down towers in search of soil and water.

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Everyday Drabbles #607: Weatherman

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 It was the first snowfall of the season. The druid sat on his cairn and meditated, attempting to augur the coming season.Sometimes first snows were weak, with wet flakes that melted into rain before they’d even touched the earth. Other times they were carried on fierce blizzard winds that tore through the valley like a dragon.
This snowfall was neither destructive nor hesitant, and the dancing white drifts promised a good winter: A time to rest without fear.The druid stood, mindful of the ice-slick rocks, and headed to the village to spread the news before a warm fire.

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Everyday Drabbles #605: Rescue

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She came running as soon as she heard the commotion outside.
Sure enough, The Creature was back, perched atop the shrine at the edge of the cow pasture. His black horns glinted in the sunlight. The cat paced in the grass below, yowling and lashing its tail.
“Clarice!  Come here, you naughty cat!” She grabbed it by the scruff. The Creature climbed down from its refuge.
“I’m sorry about this Mrs. B,” he said in an impossibly deep voice.
“Nonsense, dear. I know how it is with cats. Why don’t I lock her up, and you come inside for tea?”

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Hugh Likes Fiction: Comfort Me With Apples

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Comfort Me With Apples
Written By Catherynne M Valente
Read By Karis Campbell
Published by Tordotcom and Dreamscape Media LLC

The Skinny – This puzzle box of a novella about a woman living in an exclusive gated community is a suspenseful, surprising little treat.


Sophia’s life is a paradise. She keeps her husband’s house in the Arcadia Gardens, the ultimate gated community, and even though he is away with work much of the time, he’s the perfect husband, who has given her the perfect life. She was made for him, and everything is perfect. But she begins notices cracks in the veneer of her supposedly perfect life. She finds a hairbrush that isn’t her’s and her neighbors seem just a bit too eager when they ask her if she’s happy. And then there’s the basement, which she is forbidden to enter. When Sophia’s perfect life begin to unravel, and the temptation to destroy the illusion becomes overpowering.
Giving much more of a description to this fast-paced and engaging novella would give away the game, but Valente’s luscious prose unfolds like a puzzle box, with Sophia’s narrative interposed with her contract from the unseen but all-powerful Arcadia Gardens Home Owners’ Association. It’s a clever trick that works beautifully. The story is a perfect novella length, giving just enough clues to resolve the mystery while keeping a sharp and suspenseful pace.
Karis Campbell’s narration is spot on, making this quick but engaging audiobook well worth the full credit, even if it only clocks in at a couple of hours of listening time. Each character is unique and distinct, and her read of their narration is subtle. She doesn’t give the game away, but still highlights all the incongruous and unsettling bits of Valente’s story.
Comfort Me With Apples was an unexpected and gripping little story that is well wroth your time, and works best if you go in not knowing the twist. It’s available in print, ebook and audiobook from all the usual retailers.

Everyday Drabbles #604: Enlightenment

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The acolyte was suddenly overcome with the power of her goddess, filling her with power and light.
She cried out in ecstasy as a warm wind flowed around her, gathering her up into the goddess’s embrace.
All around her, the other white-robed priestesses gave their prayers and praise while draping sheets of white cloth around her as she rose towards the heavens.
It was the most embarrassing part of the Mysteries, but the goddess’s attention didn’t extend to her vestments. They knew from experience that she would be grateful later. Nobody wanted to be seen flying around the grounds naked.

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Everyday Drabbles #603: Grounded

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Charon looked at the state of his boat and sighed. It wasn’t his fault. The geography of Hades is mutable and constantly shifting. It was a land of shadows and phantoms, after all. At least everything was still in one piece.
The rock thrust itself up out of the river Styx to form a new island. He was alone, having dropped off the day’s passengers, and perhaps he’d let his mind wander.
He pulled the phone Persephone had given him out of his robes and called his brothers to get him unstuck, knowing he’d never hear the end of it.

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Everyday Drabbles #602: Giant Skull

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After they defeated the Giant Sorcerer, the heroes did everything they could to destroy their skull. They dropped it in a volcano, boiled it in acid, and used the most powerful magic spells to get rid of it.
But it always came back, in the same spot, ready to cause trouble again. It was the sorcerer’s final curse.
They retired from adventuring and bought a house. They put the skull in a shed out back and kept it secret.
Years passed, and they forgot about the skull. When they sold the property, it gave the new owners quite a scare.

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Everyday Drabbles #599: Twin Cities

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With their supplies exhausted, the ship approached the cliffside and the fabled Twin Cities high above.
According to legend, it was once one island and one city. But half the people were so virtuous, and the other half so wicked, that the gods split it in two, divided by a deep, wide canyon.
The city on their right was built of white stone, with tall spires topped by colorful flags. The other was the drab stone of the cliffside, and their architecture was functional and graceless.
As usual, the ship picked the wrong port, drawn in by the pretty flags.

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Everyday Drabbles #597: Mountain Citadel

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It was morning when he reached the mountain citadel, and the glaring sun gave the stone and ice a blue glow. The monastery was built from the same rock as the surrounding peaks, and unless you knew where and what to look for, you’d never find it. Many brave wanderers had gone searching for it and found only their deaths on the unforgiving slopes. 
But it was a sword that cut both ways, the pilgrim figured. The monks must be starved for news of the outside world.
He adjusted his pack. He was going to sell them so many encyclopedias.

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