7 Comments
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Ricky Champagne's avatar

Ah the days when the batteries on our music players mattered.

Very cool story mixed with humor and mystery. "the squirrel family looked too cozy to bother." Tells you so much about the character in such a short line.

Rebekah Mallory's avatar

Thanks for reading! The nameless beast’s story is already unfolding into a novel. It’s funny, I’ve never been a short story person until I dug into the files on my laptop and found a few. Then started writing some here.

And yeah, she loves critters probably more than she does herself. People? The Magic 8 Ball says “Unlikely.” 😏

Words about things and stuff's avatar

Oh I love how this is going. Sure she's becoming a monster, but the her that's her is still in there, not monstrous at all... well... maybe a bit like when she knows she could've hurt the guy.

I love the attention to the world around her, especially to the other animals. She seems to value them far more than the people around... and she herself seems more of a fascination than anything else. Like, "ooh what's this?" or "how do I manage that now?"

kevinsky's avatar

I had the same take away

Siddhartha Mukherjee's avatar

"My voice...

Isn't my voice anymore."

"I miss Alek."

"Maybe Sunday's

front-page news

will lead him here."

Beneath all the horns,

wings,

and red scales...

Is someone

simply trying

to remain

recognizable

to the people

she loves.

Funny. Heartbreaking. Wonderfully original! I'M SUBSCRIBING!

I write at The Reflective State, where one of my ongoing series is Mountain Mysteries—atmospheric tales of mystery, folklore and the unexplained set in the mountains of India. If curiosity ever brings you my way, I'd genuinely love to know what you think.

Maddox Clausinger's avatar

99 Luft balloons and 99 scales. Engaging short story.

kevinsky's avatar

Soul Asylum. Wow, i havent heard that name in a lonnnnnggg time