Sara C. Snider's Blog, page 21

Nogal

Nogal’s feet hung off the ground as he reached into a barrel. His fingertips scraped against the sharp nails that lay at the bottom. Sucking in his breath, he leaned in further, grabbing a handful of nails as the barrel toppled over. As he went down, Nogal’s foot hooked a rake and sent it clattering to the ground as nails spilled around him.

“Who goes there?” a man said as heavy footfalls headed towards the shed in which Nogal lay.

Nogal shoved fistfuls of nails into his pockets before he sco...

Monk’s Pepper

I perhaps should have listed this story under “A” for “Awkward…”

Monk’s Pepper

“What’s so special about it?” Ginny said to the peddler standing outside her opened kitchen window. “What’s so special about this pepper that it warrants three-times the cost?”

The peddler leaned towards her. “My dear lady, this pepper was carefully cultivated by blind monks high up in the mountains. They’ve abstained from speech and worldly possessions, their one goal in life being the upbringing of these rare p...

Laurel

Laurel sat in her throne atop a dais that looked down into a courtyard. There, half-clad men cavorted as they thrust spears at one another and sparred with swords. Some forwent using weapons and fought each other with bare hands. Villagers from the valley came to watch the spectacle. It was quite the event, they whispered–the games in which the victor would win Princess Laurel’s hand.

Laurel sighed. She had never wanted this—it had all been her father’s idea. He had wanted a son, but got Laur...

Knobcone Pine

Cobwort and Cow trundled through the woods, grabbing at whatever they could find with their grubby little hands.

“I found a fistful of berries!” Cobwort cried.

“I found a bunch of shiny green leaves!” Cow replied.

Neither was happy with what he had found, and both were continually trying to outdo the other. They continued to crash through the woods, grabbing and taking, shoving and squawking, until they at last came upon a great knobby pine.

The brothers stared up at it as their mouths hung o...

Jack Oak

Jack whistled as he wandered along a winding dirt road. A bulging sack hung from his shoulders, bouncing against his back in time with his lively steps. The day was bright and clear, and the early-summer day was warm. He closed his eyes and smiled, basking as the sunlight shone on his face.

The road wound up around a steep hill. Jack followed it, watching as the surrounding countryside unfolded around him. Tall golden grass swayed in the breeze, stretching to the horizon like a vast ocean. Th...

Insignis Pine

“Who died and made him king of the woods?” Larch said.

Willow leaned over and said, “It’s the name, you know. It’s all in the name.”

“What, ‘Pine’?” Larch snorted. “What’s so special about that?”

“No, the first part. Insignis. It’s very distinguished.”

“Distinguished my root. It’s all flounce, there’s no substance.”

Willow sighed. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. They say it means ‘remarkable.’” Willow’s branches fluttered in the breeze. “Remarkable.”

Larch snorted again. “Any tree that has...

Hawthorn, Hazel, Hemlock, and Holly

Why use one tree name, when you can use four…

Hawthorn, Hazel, Hemlock, and Holly

Holly twirled a lock of her hair around a finger and sighed. “Well, I don’t see what’s so important about this meeting. They’re just a couple of old, stuffy warlocks. Who would want to be a wife to one of them?”

“You would, if you know what’s good for you,” Hazel said as they walked up the steps of a great stone house. “Hawthorn and Hemlock are well respected, and what you call old, I call powerful.” She took...

Greenheart

Gwyron moved through the forest on thin, fragile legs. His pace was little more than a crawl, his withered muscles too weak to allow him more. Wearied, he stopped and rested against a barren tree. In the branches above him, dried and wilted leaves rattled in the wind. The sound scraped against his thoughts, chafing his mind and leaving it red and raw. He closed his eyes, imagining the rain, remembering the lush and vibrant greenery that this forest once had.

He opened his eyes, and the rawnes...

Foxtail

So, as far as flash fiction goes, this story is a complete failure. Coming in at around 1800 words, it counts as a regular short story and not flash fiction. But, I didn’t want to scrap it and start over. I liked the main character and I liked the beginning, and I wanted to see how it would end. And I’m glad I did. All things considered, I like the story, even if it is too long. Hopefully you will also enjoy it, and can forgive the extra verbiage.

Foxtail

Senna sucked the marrow from a chic...

Elderberry

Mama always said my imagination ran wild. She’d tell me I’d not stay a boy forever and that I’d do well to show some restraint. She was wrong, though. I didn’t imagine the old man in the elderberry tree. He had been there, wearing only a pair of tattered breeches as he pelted the little black berries at me until they stained my skin. He had laughed at that, though I hadn’t thought it nearly so funny.

But when I told Mama, she spanked me for telling fibs and for staining my clothes, and then s...