Derek R Henig
(FANTASY) – All is well on Penelope’s island, Sel, until a mysterious monster suddenly attacks the village and causes Penelope to fall unconscious. What this monster is and what it’s after, she doesn’t know. Yet, when those answers are discovered, the truth is even harder to grasp, and this journey will become the fight of Penelope’s life.
Listen – Read – and Check Out the Takeaway Idea Below…
(FANTASY) – Holokai has a golden coin that, when he casts it into the magical well, will grant him a single wish by their god, Ekewaka. In fact, all the children on the islands are born with these coins. It’s an amazing miracle, yet Holokai is stuck and unable to think of a wish. His friends and everyone his age have already cast their coins into the well and Holokai is afraid he’ll never think of a wish. However, an accident will force Holokai to come to terms with what he wants and move beyond the events from his past that are holding him back. With the help of the energetic and quirky, Ekewaka, Holokai will face his deepest fears and long-held pain.
Listen – Read – and Check Out the Takeaway Idea Below…
[ en-DAH-jən-əs ]
** Either a story beginning, a story ending, a piece of flash fiction, a poem, painting, dance move—inspired by the word, endogenous, where does it take me? Where does it take you? Learn more about “The Word” here.
Brin felt… odd. She sipped her fresh-squeezed orange juice and eyed her half-eaten plate of eggs and toast with suspicion. Yet, with a little thought, it was quickly apparent that this wasn’t some stomach ache.
“Brin, honey?” her mom said while she fried up more eggs in the cast iron skillet. “Not hungry?”
[ bre-vil-uh-kwuhnt ]
** Either a story beginning, a story ending, a piece of flash fiction, a poem–inspired by the word, breviloquent, where does it take me? Where does it take you?
Georgia sat at her desk, straight like a board, with her gloved hands resting delicately on the table before her. Madam Tess stalked slowly up and down the rows of girls holding her thin, bamboo rod reciting the day’s lesson.
“Speak wisely, or not at all,” said Madam Tess.
A new girl, sitting just in front of Georgia, gazed out the window. Suddenly, yet not unexpected, a loud “crack!” filled the room as the bamboo rod came down upon the girl’s gloved hands. She screamed in pain, and Madam Tess said nothing, but just stared at the girl. The new girl put her hands back on the desk slowly, eyes fixed ahead, and Madam Tess continued.
Georgia’s mind went to the new girl, but she didn’t glance over in case Madam Tess turned around. She remembered her own first days at the school and her naivety.
The leather gloves that all the girls wore was a well-known mark of someone who attended St. Margaret’s Academy. Rumor had it, they never took them off. Once a girl entered the school, she’d wear her gloves for the rest of her life.
That’s precisely why Georgia’s family sent her there. She could go to school, have friends, live her life, and no one would ever see her hands.
After her first day at the Academy, it became clear that the gloves were there to soften the blows of the rod, and to hide marks of broken fingers. Everyone held secrets apparently. It wasn’t just her.
The idea here, I think, has awesome potential. A rough school where all the girls and future women wear gloves always. A perfect chance to instill a little mystery as to what Georgia is hiding.
She’s able to hide in plain sight, no one would question her for wearing gloves. But, of course, the gloves will have to come off at some point. When she embraces her identity as not a girl of this Academy, but something else entirely.
I imagine her hands hold some visible magical signs. Tattoos she was born with that move around. Or, maybe they glow. They’re green. It could be anything!
So, the mystery is first just what is she hiding under the gloves? There’s tension in the story as we know, at some point, the gloves will come off. What will that mean for Georgia? Then, there’s the mystery of what those glowing green hands mean? Is she a witch? A demon?
Easy to make a conflicted romance as a result too. Lots of cool places this can go, and when I started, I really didn’t love the idea. Now, I’m really into it!
Does Georgia have a story to tell? Where would you take it?
Leave your thoughts, your own story beginning/ending, flash-fiction, or whatever in the comments! Where did breviloquent or my story take you?
If you want to read something with a little magic, check out my short story The Three-Legged Knight.
Today’s word is from Dictionary.com.
Enjoy a One-Minute Story, Learn a New Word, and Create With Me! Delivered to you every Tuesday and Thursday morning.
[ fyoo-gey-shuh s ]
** Either a story beginning, a story ending, a piece of flash fiction, a poem–inspired by the word, fugacious, where does it take me? Where does it take you?
Was the ghost my friend? I wondered and, despite my doubts, there was still a sense of closeness I felt from its recurring presence. I mean, what motivations, desires, or things in common could we have? I’m alive, and it’s dead. Right?
A flash of uncertainty with that idea washed over me, and I made up my mind.
The wispy form swirled around the foot of my bed in the early morning hours like a ribbon of smoke.
“Good morning,” I said, the pleasure for its presence was clear in my voice.
The reply wasn’t distinct, but the ribbon of smoke circled my head, and a sing-song sound filled my ears. No words, but, to me, the message was clear: good morning!
I figured that after two days, I should call it something other than “ghost.” After all, it was unlike any ghost I ever read about in fairytales or in ghost stories. Again, the reply came the same way, swirling about my head, but no words were distinguishable.
“How about, Song?” I said, shrugging my shoulders, which turned into a sky-reaching stretch and a yawn.
The ribbon swirled before me, hovering above my bed, and with a puff, it turned into a checkmark. The same wispy texture about its edges, but the image was clear.
“Alright, then. Song, it is.”
Song whirled around my ears, playing its tune when it suddenly vanished. Not a second later, I heard my mother’s footsteps climbing the stairs, coming to get me out of bed.
This was really fun, and my imagination is swimming!
I love the mystery involved in this. What exactly is this swirling ghost? What can it do? Why has it come, and is it only to this main character? Plus a bunch of other questions in my mind.
This could be another fantasy quest story, with the main character following instructions from Song, and we follow where it takes her. There’s also the mystery element. Trying to uncover who or what Song is, and the message it’s trying to convey to her.
There’s clearly an ancient magic or mythology to uncover, which I love. There could even be a latent ability in the main character that allows her to do more than just see this “ghost.” Some sort of magical ability she didn’t know she had, which she uncovers along her journey. I love stories like that!
Lots of possibilities!
Sound like an exciting story to you? Where do you see it going? Perhaps this ghost really isn’t her friend? Now we have a darker story to tell.
Leave your thoughts, your own story beginning, flash-fiction, or whatever in the comments! Where did fugacious or my story take you?
If you liked this story, check out my podcast of short stories, More Than A Story.
Today’s word is from Merriam-Webster.
Enjoy a One-Minute Story, Learn a New Word, and Create With Me! Delivered to you every Tuesday and Thursday morning.