Archive for November, 2004
Short story: The magician’s washing machine
The air had a slightly oily taste to it, while the sea itself seemed
heavy like molasses as it slopped onto the tired grey shore. Andrew
Mulligan, twenty-three year old solitary walker, stopped walking and
turned to stare at the distant horizon. He sighed heavily and
somewhat theatrically as he reached back with his arm and then
threw it forward, violently opening up his palm to let fly with the
pebble he’d been holding for the past half hour. He had no idea why
he’d picked it up in the first place, let alone why he’d held onto it for
so long; it was, after all was said and done, an unremarkable stone,
roughly-textured and a dirty yellow-green. He was glad to let it go.
He watched the thing soar, then collapse into the sullen water, gone
without a trace – wistfully, he thought, just like his girlfriend Susan
that morning. He had awoken to find a hastily scribbled note on the
pillow next to his own, telling him it was over, done and dusted, no
more chances, no more talk. Andrew was glad to let her go, all
things considered. As with the pebble, he had no idea why he’d
been holding onto her for so long and, now that she was gone, he
felt the rightness of it inside his heart. It was time for new things.
Short story: Maggie’s Moon
The moon was gloriously full and the air cold but clearer
that night than it had been for the past seven, making it
easy for Maggie to see the face of her friend on that
distant sphere; she’d communicated with the so-called
‘man in the moon’ many times over the years, often when
out gathering herbs for her spells on the prescribed nights
and times of the lunar cycle.
It had been her moon spirit friend who had shown
her where she could find the rarest of herbs for her
potions. He had also kept her company during devotional
workings in honour of Brigid, times when her stomach
had growled in protest at her fasting while the fires she
had lit seemed to offer no real warmth. Her bones chilled,
she had closed her eyes and begun dialogues with the
moon spirit which had always been both comforting and
rewarding.
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