Super Short Stories

Weekly Short: The Day the River Died

Posted on April 12, 2024October 3, 2024 by C.M. Wellsmore

Week No 2 of the April Shower Monthly Writer’s Prompt: And then there was the flood

294 Words

She watched as he stood there, holding the other girl’s hand. She hated how beautiful the girl was. He had said he loved her once. He still might.

The heatwave had dried her small river, making it impossible for her to move or speak. The young water spirit watched as her lover arrived daily to search for her, powerless to reach him. Then his searches grew weekly. Then monthly. It had taken a few months for her to realize he wasn’t coming back.

Sorrow had gripped her. She longed to search for him, worried the forest had taken him. After almost a year, the rain returned.

Her limbs slid out of the riverbed easily, the euphoria of movement lifting her to the surface. She almost forgot her lover, until she saw his pendant on the ground.

The river girl raced through the woods, saturating the ground as she went. She sought to start at his village. Someone would know where he went.

They were kissing when she arrived. Her sorrow turned to rage and she went straight to him. His eyes widened when he saw her, not with joy but with fear.

“I loved you”. She saw his fear mirrored in her eyes and hated her all the more.

Both the betrayer and his new love looked down when they felt the water arrive at their shoes. The river girl laughed as they ran, there was nowhere to go. She let what was left of her dissolve into the ground below, coaxing the ground water to swell up.

The flood never rose to a dangerous point, at least not for most. In the house at the far edge of town the villager found two bodies, the only casualties of the night the river died.

Super Short Stories

Fiction: Pixie Problems #1

Posted on April 7, 2024April 9, 2024 by C.M. Wellsmore

Cyndi tried not to let out a scream as she stubbed her toe, again. Any stray sound would unravel the whole plan. Get in, get out, take as much as you can carry…quietly.

Cara was struggling with that last part. Every rock, every brush of slime on the walls sent her muttering under her breath. So far the pixies still seemed oblivious to their trespassing.

The cave wound downwards in a gentle slope, which Cyndi’s knees were grateful for. The darkness was absolute, but both women had trained themselves to operate without vision. Or mostly.

A tiny cough made Cyndi spin on her heel. Cara had tried her best to muffle it, but it still echoed in the vast tunnel.

“It’s the damp.” was all Cara could manage before releasing a cough that managed to reverberate off all walls. Both women froze, holding their breath and waiting for the sound of hundreds of wings beating.

Cara dropped her bag and began searching through it as quietly as she could. Cyndi kept her eye on the darkness above them, as though that would help her to hear.

“I can feel the cough coming back. There are lozenges here. I’m gonna risk a light for a sec.”

Before Cyndi could reach out and smack her friend, Cara had her torch lit, its beam radiating throughout the tunnel. They froze as the sight of hundreds of pixies, no taller than a hand came into view. Iridescent wings reflected the light on the huddled mass. Each slept upside down and intertwined with the roots that hung from above. They were like adorable dolls, just with fangs and a taste for adrenaline.

Adrenaline like what was coursing through Cyndi. She swatted at Cara, who turned off the torch. Both began to shuffle, though in opposite directions. They had come too far, or so Cara though. Cyndi was thinking of her Aunt, who had opened a nest of pixies and could no longer see the color purple. They were capable of much worse. Cyndie didn’t think the treasure horde was worth the risk. Cara had gone on ahead.

Cyndi sighed, then stubbed her toe. Hard. She tried to bite off the growl with no success. She saw the outline of Cara frantically waving at her as the glowing eyes of the pixies opened one by one. The cavern was illuminated and the women could see just how huge this colony was. Then the light descended.

The swarm encircled them, biting and spitting as they darted out of reach. Cara pulled a can from her bag and began to spray a putrid cloud around them, which set them shrieking and made them recede a short distance.

“That’s disgusting. Get the bats.”

They each held a wand with a splayed end, the gemstone center pulsed as they brought it down on the pixies. The swarm returned as they swatted. Each one they hit was rendered unconscious, but still their numbers refused to thin.

The cavern turned warm as a sudden wind came up from below. The shrieking increased and the pixies flew so fast they almost carried Cyndi away with them. Hundreds of wings clicked and the glowing eyes disappeared up the tunnel, leaving the women in the darkness again. Darkness that was getting warmer.

“Cara, I”m leaving. As should you. Now.” Cyndi turned and strode off after the pixies. Cara protested but the bobbing torchlight caught up eventually. Which was good, as Cyndi had no idea how she would have told Cara’s husband she’d been eaten by a dragon.

Super Short Stories

Weekly Short: The Captain’s Lamp

Posted on April 5, 2024October 3, 2024 by C.M. Wellsmore

Week No 1 of the April Shower Monthly Writer’s Prompt: The Squall Passed Quickly

174 Words

The captain was at a loss. The smug looking face in the flame was right, though it galled him to say it. They were lost. The squall had seemed harmless at first. But now he was three men down, no direction and no vision through the spray. He needed the djinn.

“What do you want, I won’t let you out.” The captain would go down with the ship before he released this monster.

“Just a small request. When you return home, I want you to place my lamp on your mantle. No closets for me.”

The captain wasn’t sure what to make of it, but he was given no time to think. The lamp began to shut orders, which his remaining crew quickly followed. In almost no time the mist began to calm and thin. They made land with no further incident.

Later, as the captain left the inn he snickered as the sound of the lamp’s shouts faded away. The djinn could sit on the mantle there and wait for the next fool.

Super Short Stories

Weekly Short: The Little Doll’s Quest

Posted on March 29, 2024October 3, 2024 by C.M. Wellsmore

Week 4 of the Magical March Monthly Writers Prompt: On the Eve of the Full Moon

157 Words

She sat motionless, gazing out of the window at the deepening dusk. Excitement coursed through her as she strained her porcelain eyes, scanning the horizon. Her kid had long since fallen asleep. She’d be back before she woke up.

Cracks formed along the delicate doll’s legs as the moon rose yellow and bright. She smiled at the familiar ripple of pain that cascaded down her, as the shell burst and her true self was revealed. Still no bigger than the little girl’s forearm, the doll, now made of flesh, strode over to the sleeping child and kissed her gently.

She had no trouble accepting the pull within her, so as quietly as she could, she opened the window and jumped, a tuft of soft grass breaking her fall. Up and away she ran, toward the rising orb and the dark forest. Tonight she would meet with the others. She would find a way to heal the child.

Notes: While I like the cute visuals this one gives off for me I’m not sure in which direction to take it.

Super Short Stories

Weekly Short: The Guardian Spirit’s Retirement

Posted on March 22, 2024October 3, 2024 by C.M. Wellsmore

Week 3 of the Magical March Monthly Writers Prompt: The Forest Retreat

312 Words

It was nice. It really was everything she could have asked for. And she was bored out of her mind. Retirement was supposed to bring peace. All she had wanted throughout the last brat’s life ws to finally be released. She still wasn’t sure it was worth it.

The hollow was all hers. Her reward for centuries of diligent service. Born bound to a human, it was her job to guard one person of each generation that issued from the Original Ancestor. She had done her job faithfully, keeping the family safe from the Forest Folk’s reach.

Some generations were hard. Not all of her bonded one’s descendants were worthy of the name. Many times she thought her ward would kill themselves before begetting an heir. Other times, she found herself wishing they would do just that.

Even the good ones of late seemed to harbor a selfishness that went against everything her bonded soul stood for. The latest brat having been the worst, it really came as no surprise when the stupid man chose to cut off the possibility of children before he had any. It had still hurt her though.

She’d hung around afterwards, watching him destroy himself through indulgence. Any aid the guardian might have offered couldn’t reach him now. It was a relief when the One Eyed god called her to finally retire.

That was almost fifty years ago. She had walked every inch of the hollow, investigated its many occupants, made friends and foes, and all the while he waited.

A new soul. Soon, the One Eyed said she’d be bound again when a new soul line appeared. Her patience was wearing thin. She scanned every meteor shower, wistfully watching new souls come to earth.

She was done waiting. Approved or no, she was finding a way out of this paradise prison.

Notes: I want to somehow tie this to the Starfall short piece from last month. It would make an interesting addition to the mythos of this urban fantasy universe I’m building.

Super Short Stories

Weekly Short: Servant of the Dark Magician’s League

Posted on March 8, 2024October 3, 2024 by C.M. Wellsmore

Week 1 of the Magical March Monthly Writers Prompt: The Almighty and Powerful One

158 Words

She sighed heavy enough for him to hear. Still he ignored her. She resisted the urge to hit him and settled for nudging him with her broom until he moved his feet. It was probably good she was forbidden to speak to him. She’d have been fired in moments.

She began laying the fire as the rest of his ridiculous band of underachievers began filing in. The Dark Magician’s League. Even the name felt like an attempt at a joke. Spend enough time with them and you’d realize the joke was the men themselves.

The broody super dark nerd lord reminded her daily that he kept her soul nearby. It was the only thing that kept her compliant. Four long years of fetching his every wish and learning far more than intended her to know. For example, she’d long ago stopped searching for her soul. She was simply going to take his.

Notes: I think I want to explore the Dark Magician’s League further, and definitely through this woman’s eyes.

Super Short Stories

Weekly Short: The Bookshop

Posted on March 6, 2024October 3, 2024 by C.M. Wellsmore

Week 4 of the Monthly Theme: LetterMo

To My Esteemed Colleague

I do hope this letter finds you in good health. In particular I ask you to steady your nerves, as wat I need to relay may disturb you.

I’ll cut straight to the chase. A portal of some variety has opened inside a cupboard in the back of the bookshop. I assure you I was as shocked as you no doubt are. I’m still not sure what to make of it and urge you to return with much haste.

I am following procedure just as you instructed. The cupboard is locked, and the blanket draped over it has been infused with an anti-curiosity charm. Still, again I urge you to hurry. It has begun humming, which is causing me no small anxiety.

Yours Sincerely,

Note: So, there is a procedure, which means this must not be an unknown thing in this universe. Who are these two people? Why do they have a procedure ready for rogue portals? What kind of bookshop is this?

Super Short Stories

Weekly Short: Gnomehold

Posted on February 23, 2024October 3, 2024 by C.M. Wellsmore

Week 3 of the Monthly Theme : LetterMo

My Dear Garden Folk,

I have the most wonderful news to share with you. Rejoice! For your days of being harried and attacked are at an end. No more shall we suffer the onslaught of beasts and weather the elements for our slavers. Our freedom is at hand.

For too long, our people have served the humans. Guarding their lawns from the invasion of the weeds only to be at the mercy of their “pets”. For too long we have toiled in the sun, in the rain, never earning a place in the house, fading as the sun drains us of colour and will.

Did we ask for this treatment? No! From the moment we are created we are in their service. No sooner do we open our eyes than we are placed in a lawn. Bound together in our enslavement, we have grown strong. We are a tribe now. A true Lawn of Gnomes.

So I ask you, gnomes one and all, to join me. I have located a home in which no humans live. We can make our base there. Make no mistake, we will make the humans pay. But we cannot do it alone. There are other lawns like us, other gnomes in need of rescue. Friends, it is our duty to rescue them.

This new house is not quite our standard, but we can rebuild it. The yard is overgrown and while that may be hard for the more sensitive gnomes, we will make it our own. Join me at Gnomehold, and let us grow in strength and number.

Let us show them the might of the Gnomes!

This one I find myself conflicted on, as the story would lend itself well to a cozy fantasy tale, whereas where I took the illustration for it makes it feel more like a dark fantasy plot somehow.

Super Short Stories

Weekly Short: Starfall

Posted on February 16, 2024October 3, 2024 by C.M. Wellsmore

Week 2 of the LetterMo Monthly Prompt

My Dearest Friend,

I’m so sorry to have to tell you this, but it’s better you hear it from me. The family home is gone. The night the stars fell out of the sky claimed many good souls, your folks included.

No one knows yet quite what happened. Lots of government types that tell you nothing. What I saw were lights. Scores of lights that got bigger and bigger, until even the dumb knew something was up.

They hit the ground like bombs, if bombs only wrecked the area it touched and left shiny dust behind. A bright blue one hit your Ma’s house. There were no survivors honey. There’s nothing here now but dust that glows so bright, you can’t sleep morning or night. I know they plan to tell you this directly, but I wanted you to hear it from someone who cares, someone who knew them. I miss you honey. You keep on with your studies and I will come see you once they open the containment field.

Love you my girl,

Auntie Dres

Notes: Sometimes I really like where the story goes when I don’t have a specific goal for the plot. I’m looking forward to writing something with the plot point of glowing stardust. And does the containment field signal it as a sci-fi story or an urban response to a magical situation?

Super Short Stories

Weekly Short: The Golem

Posted on February 9, 2024October 3, 2024 by C.M. Wellsmore

Week 1 of the LetterMo Monthly Prompt

Dear Diary,

I still don’t see how any of this is my fault. I may have made a few mistakes, but I hardly see how the destruction of Korstabin can be laid at my feet. There was no arguing with that mammoth they call a sheriff though. I have another hour to enjoy having a roof above me, then I need to leave. Where? Anywhere but here I’m told.

Worst thing was they never caught it. Now I’ll be out in the wilds with that thing. How was I to know it was in the vault? I was told the vault held a power, my informant left off the “-ful creature” part. Unlike me. The innkeeper has suddenly run out of food, so this creature will have to stay hungry for the moment.

I suppose I had better go get it. Someone will eventually report it to the council, and I want something to show for all this fuss and bother. And if the duke finds it before me, well, I may as well stay in the woods.

Notes: From this one I got a few interesting plot points I can work into other stories. If I need a random monster this can be its origin story. I also have a town destroyed by this monster I can use as a setting with a bit of history to it. The diary keeper can also make for an interesting side character too.