Welcome to this week’s installment of many micro stories, ranging in length from 100 words to 500 words.
With each story we hope to deliver a little whimsy into the lives of our readers.
WEED WILE
She lit the candle the moment Tom entered the house.
“Only fetching the truck, darling.”
As always, his much too loud voice grated on her.
“Have you heard what happened to Bill? He wanted to get rid of some weeds or such by using a fucking flamethrower, of all things. Cost him his life as he nearly burnt his barn down. Tragic, but the guy was a total dunce. Luckily, his wife was safe.”
Thinking about it, she remembered Brie, Bill’s wife, and her lovely smile from their visit to old Rose, the witch. So it worked.
Looking out of the window, she saw how the earth cracked open in isolated spots and long, thorn-covered vines emerged. At first, it only happened in scattered patches, but there became more and more. The vines grew on until they formed an impenetrable thicket bristling with thorns. Tom saw it too.
“What’s that? It’s blocking everything. Can’t even reach the truck.”
She opened the cabinet and handed him a machete.
“What? That belongs in the garage, why is it in the house?”
A reproachful tone mixed into his voice.
She shrugged. He took it and went outside, closing the door behind him.
Then she waited. It took several minutes until his cries, loud as ever, stopped.
She blew the candle out, put the paper with the spell away, and thought of Brie.
Andreas Flögel is a German author whose fiction has been published in both German and English anthologies and magazines. Recent and forthcoming credits include stories in Dark Moments, Flashpoint SF, Trembling with Fear, Stygian Lepus, Sci Phi Journal and various anthology collections. For more information, visit his website: www.dr-dings.de
If you enjoyed this drabble you can find it and more in the Hawthorn & Ash 2023 anthology.
Iron Faerie Publishing 
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