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.
PHYSICS AND FAIRY DUST
The train shifts beneath my touch. Her oiled wheels smudge grease upon my fingertips, and I stick my hand into my left mouth to taste the fluid tang.
For two centuries, she has run uninterrupted, propelled forward by theoretical physics and fairy dust. Her whispery cadence keeps me company, and every revolution removes two seconds from my sentence.
Four eternities, after all, might seem like five without companionship. The train can’t make me human—no wicked sorcery could alter me so fundamentally—but it reminds me that humanity is something to be striven for.
Her wheels keep running.
I dream.
Nico Martinez Nocito is a queer, trans writer who pens diverse fantasy stories and poetry. They spend their free time running, singing, and acting in local theater productions. Find them in the upcoming anthologies Grimm Retold and Black Cat Tales, and on Instagram @nicowritesbooks.
www.instagram.com/nicowritesbooks
If you enjoyed this drabble you can find it and more in the Hawthorn & Ash 2023 anthology.
Iron Faerie Publishing 