mastodon 4.7.3Very short science fiction/fantasy stories by O. Westin. Please Boost any you like.
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Home: http://microsff.com/
I heard stories of people who've fed crows, and been given gifts in return. It sounded charming, so I began doing that.
Then, one night, there was a rapping on my bedroom window. I stumbled up and opened.
A crow flew in and spoke: "They're coming for you. You must flee."
I only just made it out.
There used to be an old sign by the path, warning passers-by of the local sleeping willow, which would trap the unwary with fatigue, engulf them while they slept, and release them a hundred years later.
There was a new sign:
"This sleeping willow is full."
And a map of other locations to try.
Every morning, the queen asked her magic mirror to show her the most beautiful person in the world.
The mirror replied "To whom?"
"The miller who made the flour for my bread," the queen would say, or "Whoever spun the thread my shawl was made of".
The mirror would show her, and she'd be amazed.
"Excuse me, your highness" the frog said. "May I implore you to give me a peck on the cheek?"
"Not a kiss?" the princess asked.
"I would not presume. A peck will turn me back into a prince for a day, so I can find a bow and arrows."
"Whatever for?"
"I'll kill the heron who's eating my friends!"
"The Dark Lord has taken over our land. What do we do?"
"Learn from the goblins."
"What? Those useless little-"
"Takes skill to mask rebellion as incompetence."
"What?"
"They know His reign will end. For now, they persist and resist."
"Oh."
"Also: remember every moment of joy is a victory."
"Here you go," the guard said, "in you go with the others."
The door clanged shut behind me. The cell was quite crowded, a quite homogenous group of men looked at me.
How to say it in Latin? "Cur in carcerem es?"
"We are also time travellers," one said in English, "here to warn Caesar."
The professor brought a large box.
"Here, I built you something."
I've tested many of her inventions, so...
"A doll house?"
"Scale 1:24. Put it on the floor and press that button."
We shrank.
"Time also scales. A full night's sleep here is twenty minutes."
"There's only one bed."
"Details."
It was one of those days when nothing goes right. I managed to hit a button that wasn't there in the lift, and instead of taking me to the fourth floor, it took me four worlds sideways.
I've gotten used to it here, but I really miss dodo burgers.
"Will there be treasure in this dungeon?"
"I'm sure there are some silver candlesticks, but we're after the library."
"Books again? Last time we almost died just so you could read the final volume in the Nightraid Saga."
"This is the library and archive of the Dungeon Builder's Guild."
"Oh? Oh!"
"I will grant you three wishes," the genie said.
"I want you to agree with me," the man said.
"Very clever!"
"I want you to stay with me."
"Gladly!"
"Give me what I ask for."
"I already have!"
The man asked for many things, and while he didn't get any of them, he had company and validation.
I stand in the yard as the sun rises behind me. My shadow stretches out in front of me.
The sunrise shadow contains all you've done, everything you've been. I see triumph, defeat, love, loss, and dreams.
One could get lost; reminiscing, reflecting.
One could.
I shrug and get on with my day.
** Reposting this story I wrote last year
#GnuTerryPratchett
**
"I bought this enchanted sword," the student said. "It glows in the presence of someone who questions their identity."
Buying such a sword was a strong hint, the swordmaster thought. "And it glows?"
"It glows regardless of how far away I am!"
"Ah. Is it a sword, or an identity doubt detector?"
The first thing I noticed was that the pain was gone. The tall, thin, hooded figure let me bask in that for a moment.
IT IS TIME
"Oh," I said, looking down at the frail vessel I had inhabited all my life. "Right."
COME
"Do you remember," I asked as we walked, "everyone you come for?"
YES
"Fondly?"
I DO NOT JUDGE. AS A RULE, I SPEND LITTLE TIME WITH PEOPLE AS THEY LIVE
"No, but you spend some time with them after, like now."
1/2
** Over on Tumblr, one of my stories has reached a milestone - 100k notes - largely thanks to the comic adaptation a reader made of it in 2024.
You can see it here:
https://www.tumblr.com/microsff/809813190811811840/my-first-100k-post-after-almost-thirteen-years-on
**
"What happens to books that nobody reads?" the king asked.
"We send them to the archive for safekeeping," the librarian said. "There are many more books in the archive now than we have on the shelves."
"That must cost a fortune!"
"Not at all. Centuries ago, we found a dragon who hoards books."