paranatellonta

[paranatellonta]

Train Delay

It was never a good time for a train delay. After a busy day in the city, I didn’t have anywhere to be except home for a late dinner and an unmoving night on the sofa. But I was too exhausted to cope with any deviations from that plan, so I groaned when the train stopped just before one of the stations on the way. A red light, I assumed, until I looked out the window and froze in my seat. The wires of the overhead line swung dangerously back and forth, still intact, yet caught in such a terrible gust of wind that the question didn’t seem to be if they’d break, but when.

A shudder went through the train. In spite of my fear, I noticed the sky: it had turned deep purple, orange, and yellow, with only a single row of low clouds, and even those seemed to be rushing away from this place. Another shudder, and a shadow fell. The shadow of a mighty, pointed wing—and as a giant dragon flew just above the treetops not so far from the train, its gold-and-purple scales continued to reflect the light into the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen.

Perhaps this view was worth the delay.

—

[Image description: Photo of a stunning sunset above the black outline of some houses, trees, and street lanterns. Orange sunrays burst through a low line of clouds into the deep blue, almost purple, of the sky above. The black outline of the railway’s overhead lines is at the front of the picture.]

—

Adding a little announcement: the Kickstarter for The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters will launch soon—this is an anthology of sci-fi short stories, poetry, and art, in which a short story by Paranatellonta writer Minerva Cerridwen will be published! Click “notify” on this page to learn more. Thank you!

#sunset #colors of the sky #train #dragon #everyday magic #railway #overhead line #photography #flash fiction #train delay #376

[paranatellonta]

Prophecy

“When beauty perches on a blossom throne, warmth will creep into the world.”

There weren’t many prophecies that baffled me like this one. And not just me; other students of the prophecies didn’t manage to agree on its meaning either.

Some took it to convey that the world would come to an end when a particularly beautiful flame sparked, and whenever the latest disaster was averted, oracles who strongly believed in this interpretation would nudge each other meaningfully and boast they’d always been confident that this flame, metaphorical or not, had been too average or even ugly—no matter how loudly their terrified sobs had rung through the temple mere minutes ago.

Others, predictably, saw something about “blossoms” and “warmth”, and firmly stuck their minds to the gutter, never to release them again.

More historically interesting, people in our regions had held out hopes of prosperity throughout the centuries, every time someone halfway good-looking ascended the throne. Whether the tradition of dressing those budding royals in flowers or blossom patterns had already existed before the registration of this prophecy was unknown.

But I know the actual truth now. I stepped into the garden in late March with no other purpose than to admire the quince blossoms, and I spotted a small spider on a candy-red petal. This was no prophecy at all; this was a statement, an observation recurring every year: spring would come and warm our hearts.

—

[Image description: Close-up of a cluster of red blossoms of a Japanese quince shrub. A small, light brown spider perches on one of the petals. In the bottom right corner of the photo, closest to the viewer, there are shiny green leaves, and the rest of the shrub makes up the background.]

#chaenomeles japonica #japanese quince #maule’s quince #spider #blossoms #spring #photography #flash fiction #spiders #cw spiders #spiders cw #prophecy #375

[paranatellonta]

Be-wish-Dish

The camera slowly zooms in on a shallow, sparkling metal bowl filled with a colourful salad.

A high, slightly croaking voice starts talking: “Have you ever cooked dinner and wished it would turn into something else? Then the new Be-wish-Dish is what you’ve been waiting for! Any edible material you throw into the Dish will mirror the meal you’re really craving—why don’t you take a bite?”

Two hands with long, green nails cup the metal bowl and lift it in front of the stomach of a middle-aged witch with curly hair and a bright green hat. Suddenly, she looks straight into the camera and says: “Don’t be like me, though. Last week, my Be-wish-Dish was the nearest bowl around when I was mixing the ingredients for an extremely valuable spell, and I really thought I’d be able to resist—but I ate every last bit, because it just looked so good!”

The witch grabs a fork and digs into the colourful salad with gusto. As the camera zooms out and the Be-wish-Dish logo fills the screen, a deeper voiceover warns: “Be aware that food emulated by the Be-wish-Dish mirrors the properties of its components; if you are allergic to the original ingredients, you may experience the same reaction to the magically altered meal. In situations where the only available food is that which you’d rather not identify, however, the Be-wish-Dish is absolutely ideal.”

—

[Image description: Photo of a salad with grated carrots, chickpeas, small pieces of red bell pepper, red cabbage, and spring onion, in a metal bowl. The sides of the bowl reflect the colourful vegetables.]

#food #salad #magic #witch #photography #flash fiction #colourful #Chopped Thai Chickpea Salad with Curry Peanut Dressing #ambitious kitchen #be-wish-dish #374

[paranatellonta]

A New Bookcase for the Library (The Adventures of Mr Cube #11)

Whenever Mr Cube was volunteering at the local library, he imagined he was guarding a valuable treasure—because, in his opinion, he really was.

One of the regular staff was another, even smaller wooden robot of the name Sharpie, who’d involved Mr Cube in friendly conversations since his very first day. Learning that Mr Cube was full of dreams, Sharpie appointed him to present an idea for the library’s new bookcase.

Penny, the library’s carpenter and general handycrab, listened attentively to Mr Cube’s presentation and confirmed that xe could make everything just the way he had envisioned it. On certain points xe further improved the initial design, and it turned out xe would even add the decorative bunnies that Mr Cube had added to his picture in a bout of whimsy.

Penny was such a skilful craftscrab that xe left Mr Cube feeling a little flushed, floaty, as if his circuits would enjoy circling around Penny more often in the future.

But then the actual work started. Sharpie had seen it coming and donned a pair of goggles, but Mr Cube only realised that he wouldn’t be able to keep watching the bookcase’s manufacturing when wood chips were whizzing right by his face. His wooden face.

If Mr Cube couldn’t stomach being around Penny when xe was doing the work xe loved so much, how would he ever manage to get to know xem better?

—

[Image description: On the left of the photo, there’s a pencil sharpener encased in a small wooden robot with its mouth open and an antenna on its head. Next to it, a black card, lino printed with golden ink depicting a bookcase that holds, aside from books, a globe, a bear, some potted plants, some quartz crystals, and two rabbits, is upright against a stand that holds up a pair of golden goggles. To the right of that is Mr Cube, the wooden Cubebot, who’s holding up a white heart. In front of the card, a penknife in the shape of a crab, also with a wooden body, holds up its bottle opener arm in a wave.]

—

The black-and-gold card on the photo was made by the amazing @tanouska.

There are already 10 more Mr Cube adventures here on Paranatellonta! [Click here] to read the older ones.

#the adventures of mr cube #workplace romance #library #cubebot #robot #crab #woodworking #photography #flash fiction #sharpie #penny the handycrab #pencil sharpener #penknife #wood #a new bookcase for the library #373

[paranatellonta]

Extract from A Travel Guide to the Fairy Realm

When first entering the Fairy Realm, you may fail to notice any difference from the world you know. The trees rustle their leaves in the same breezy language, the air smells of apple trees and—if you’re unlucky—manure, the farms seem a little old-fashioned but not impossibly so. It’s only when you get close enough to talk to the animals that you’ll find they’ll reply.

The best advice that we from Moving through the Magic Mainlands can give is to be kind—and, of course, as we have warned in our introduction, bring your own food. You wouldn’t be the first human to think there's no harm in eating an egg when the hen herself has encouraged you to do so, only to find yourself turning into a resentful—yet, to the hen’s tastes, amazingly handsome—rooster.

Luckily, we were able to hear this story from the rooster himself, thanks to Moving through the Magic Mainlands’ insurance policy. This includes sending a search party if you have not returned three days after the agreed-upon date. After all, even with the strongest resolve it can be tricky not to eat anything in a land where adventurous fruit flies make a point of flying straight into humans’ digestive tracts simply for the experience. Worry not: both parties generally live to tell the tale, and there is only one known case where the fly stopped to lay eggs in their passage. The host still coughs up an iridescent little insect every now and then, but on the bright side, her ability to fly without any external aids somehow remained intact even upon her return to the human realm.

—

[Image description: Close-up photo of a very annoyed-looking rooster behind a chicken wire fence.]

#chicken #rooster #fowl #domestic chicken #domestic fowl #fairies #photography #flash fiction #fairy realm #travel guide #fly #flies #Extract from A Travel Guide to the Fairy Realm #372

[paranatellonta]

Aberrant Shrub

During my final checks I discovered a plant I hadn’t designed myself.

I was certain: I would have remembered those red buds and the contrasting green leaves which were currently cupping perfect crystals of snow, just like little hands.

I definitely wouldn’t have forgotten about the snow either, since it was as strictly forbidden as spontaneous biological evolution. The design of the planet had to be completely under our control, and any element within the planet’s atmosphere that didn’t benefit human survival would be considered wasteful by the examinators. Too much of that, or a single aberration as significant as this sweet shrub with its cheerful bud clusters announcing future blooms, and my planet and everything on it would immediately be destroyed, its elements recycled into the next design.

After all the work I’d put into creating this fresh, joyful home for my species, I couldn’t face killing the one unexpected life that had claimed its right to exist so beautifully. It was hypocritical: had it been a microorganism instead of a pretty plant, I probably wouldn’t have thought twice about eliminating it, and this could be just as dangerous. As an Unknown, it might be poisoning the air very, very slowly, causing problems to the population centuries from now—but it could just as well turn out that its extract would cure a disease as yet unheard of.

Placing six units of Atmospherically Advantageous Tree A.1 around it, I safely hid my aberrant shrub.

I could only hope it wouldn’t snow when the examinators arrived.

—

[Image description: Photo of a Skimmia plant with green leaves and clusters of red buds. In the fold of almost every leaf lies a thin layer of snow. In the background there’s a corner where a white and an orange brick wall meet, and below the plant, the snow has landed on bark chip mulch.]

#skimmia #garden #gardening #plants #snow #photography #flash fiction #science fiction #aberrant shrub #371

[paranatellonta]

Those Who Live in the Shadows

They always talk about us as if we only exist to scare small children or to bring unease in motion pictures. People think that those who live in the shadows are by definition dark and thus dangerous. They are always scared of what they cannot see clearly. But us, we don’t want to be scary. Sure, we cannot walk in bright sunlight, and sure, sometimes we can accidentally make some rustling sounds. But our main goal in life is to bring cheer. We visit puppet theatres and indicate the time for those in need. We bring a bit of shade on a hot day. And in winter, when there is more dark around, we make an extra effort. We turn into planets and stars while we dance.

—

We’re celebrating the 370th edition of Paranatellonta! This story was written by Fie, and the photo that inspired it was taken by Minerva. Next time we’re back to our usual roles. Thank you for reading! Share our pride by telling all your friends about how long we’ve been continuing this project!

—

[Image description: Photo of the dark shadow of the side of a Christmas tree, on a white, horizontally striped background. At the centre is a clearly defined star shape.]

#shadows #christmas tree #star #star shadow #winter #photography #flash fiction #christmas #decoration #holidays #cheer #those who live in the shadows #370

[paranatellonta]

Familiar Assistance

My sprite familiar had been zooming around nervously for the past 48 hours, and I couldn’t even tell it to stop—after all, it’s an extension of my own energy.

In theory, I’d had a whole year to prepare myself for New Year’s Day, and yet, once again, the to-do list for these final days had been endless.

All that was left now was cooking dinner, but the doorbell already started ringing—prompting more panicked shimmering and a little screeching, but luckily the sprite still remembered how to open the door.

As friends and family trickled into my dining room, I remained in the kitchen, shooting magic at vegetables to cut them at top speed while pouring dough into a baking tray, only to notice that of course the diced carrots weren’t quite as perfect as I’d hoped.

“Dahlia, dear, why are you still hiding from us?”

Reluctantly I dropped everything to go bid everyone a polite yet quick welcome, but I froze as soon as I entered the dining room. Scrumptious-looking dishes were all but elbowing each other to fit on the large rectangular table.

“Oh Dahlia,” my eldest cousin said with a sympathetic smile, “we all know very well that you’ve never gotten your end-of-year list done in all your life. You’re demanding way too much of yourself, and we love you and want to help, so we’ve asked your sprite what you were planning for tonight, and we’ve all done our part. Please don’t be too proud to let us do the same next year?”

—

[Image description: Photo of a stuffed pumpkin with rocket leaves spilling out at the top, on a white plate standing on a wooden table. In the background glasses, cutlery, napkins, bottles, and a pitcher of water are also visible.]

#pumpkin #stuffed pumpkin #rucola #new year #sprite #photography #flash fiction #familiar assistance #369

[paranatellonta]

Flamboyance Redeemed

My dear sister, I am writing to you to apologise profusely. When I went to the bathroom in that pasta restaurant where we’d met up, it was with the intention of returning to our table within minutes—after all, I’d been looking forward to spending a cosy day together. I couldn’t possibly have foreseen that when I opened the door, a veritable legion of flamingos would be waiting for me on the other side.

“We need your help, Alice,” they told me, and they explained that the madness of the Queen of Hearts had broken its own boundaries. She had recently decreed that every single flamingo, the entire flamboyance of them, had to be red instead of pink—as red as all her other possessions—and while the flamingos had remained placid when the Queen was using them as croquet mallets, they couldn’t possibly accept wearing a colour so badly suited to their style.

As I understood that their revolution against the Queen had put these flamingos in grave danger of decapitation, I didn’t return to warn you before I travelled deep into Wonderland once more, but it didn’t matter how fast I ran, for the landscape around me didn’t change for weeks and weeks. Finally I did reach the Queen, and all I could think about was getting back to you—and so I described to her what a lovely plate of spaghetti we’d had, with the tastiest, most satisfyingly red sauce. I told the Queen that surely the flamingos would be very good cooks, as they can use their long necks to mix ingredients together, and upon that revelation she pardoned them immediately and employed them in her kitchens to make a variety of red-sauced dishes.

I stayed only to make sure the flamingos settled in well and were treated kindly, and now, to my relief, I have at last found an opportunity to explain to you what really happened, dearest Lorina. Now you see that the circumstances were quite different from what you’ll have been imagining, though it must have been obvious that even I wouldn’t zone out in the bathroom for literal weeks…would I?

—

[Image description: Photo of a wall with a door which is slightly open, leading to a brightly lit room where part of a poster is visible with a photo of a person who’s smiling with their mouth open. On the viewer’s side of the door, both the wall and the door are covered with a wallpaper that has a deep blue background, green plants, and lots of pink flamingos.]

#flamingos #bavet spaghetti #alice in wonderland #neurodiverse fiction #zoning out #flamingo wallpaper #photography #flash fiction #bathroom wall #flamingo #random flamingo #lewis carroll #flamboyance redeemed #368 #if you enjoy my take on wonderland stories – look out for Queens in Wonderland from No Bad Books Press! #it is expected to release in february 2024

[paranatellonta]

The Sparkle Leak

I’d left a glass of water on the kitchen counter one night. When I returned from my bedroom in the morning, it looked like this, with concentric, glittery golden circles spread over the surface. Where did that come from?

I’m nothing if not a scientist, so I repeated the experiment, again and again until I was very certain that this sparkly liquid didn’t come from anywhere inside but had to be leaking slowly through the roof. Slowly indeed, as there were only a few rings on the water every day.

But what was out there that produced a liquid like this? The possibilities were limited, I realised as I gazed out my window, at the weathered trunk of the old tree that leaned over the side of my house. The only plants I knew that had sparkling sap were wishing trees—and of course I don’t really believe in wishes, but I finally realised that this tree had to be one of those. Instead of making silly wishes, I analysed the lustrous oil, and what do you think? I’ve finally got everything I need for my journey to the stars, as the oil will make the perfect fuel for my spaceship.

—

[Image description: Photo taken from above of a round glass. On the surface of the water inside are concentric circles in glittering dark green, black, and glittering gold. The background is white and red with some blurred letters and a picture of a wrapped gift in the bottom right corner.]

#nail polish #marbling #nailart #scientist #wishing tree #photography #flash fiction #the sparkle leak #367

[paranatellonta]

Hoarding Fall

His collection started in the zoo:

enrichment for his enclosure

which the dragon soon found he outgrew.

Even back then he protected his hoard from exposure:

never bit the many pumpkins, never blew the leaves around—

but he sorted them by colour and sewed them firmly to the dirt.

Those beautiful shades always kept him spellbound;

as he sat there and stared not a sound could be heard.

When he moved to his cave, he brought the whole hoard

and he added a rainbow of flowers on top.

But after long weeks perished gourd after gourd;

chrysanthemums withered and leaves became slop.

The cold of bitter winter settled into his own mood.

Why did each lovely pigment have to end up grey and faint?

The humans took care to avoid his neighbourhood,

but back in their own towns they hung baubles and splashed paint.

They dyed each little fence that lay within the dragon’s view

and gifted him a choker, set with quartz and rhodonite.

Now winter finds the dragon with his mind no longer blue:

he proudly sits amidst a hoard of brightly coloured light.

—

[Image description: Photo of a green dragon statue sitting up and wearing a choker, set with white and pink gems, around its long neck. Around the dragon, there is a circle of colourful chrysanthemums and pumpkins. In the background there’s a large white sign with information about a zoo, a small fence, and green foliage of trees.]

#dragon #pumpkins #chrysanthemum #pairi daiza #zoo #autumn #fall #photography #flash fiction #poetry #hoarding fall #366

[paranatellonta]

For Every Day

The garden gnome had spent weeks carefully selecting autumn leaves. When the perfect ones had been chosen, he dried them and set about manipulating a knife as large as his own body in a sheltered spot near his mushroom home. After all, the greeting card he was making couldn’t be small or flimsy, which meant it could never fit inside his own house.

Still, the gnome wondered if the card would really be large enough to express how much he loved his good friend the giant, even now that they weren’t neighbours anymore, even when they no longer found ways to talk to each other every day. He wanted the magic contained in the card to aim high enough to reach a giant’s heart.

When the gnome finally finished his careful cut-out of a life-sized cat silhouette and had arranged its dried-leaf fur, he struggled for another three days to fit the card into an enormous envelope. Then, to his relief, the mailhuman was willing to pick it up, so the gnome wouldn’t have to drag it all the way to the post office.

As soon as the giant opened the card, the leaf-fur cat jumped off the paper and butted its crisp head against his hands. When the giant opened the card again the next morning, the caleafco purring warmly in his lap, he found out that the text had changed; it would show him a different story on every day of the year. The message from the gnome, however, scribbled below in his tiny handwriting, always remained the same:

“Remember, dearest friend, that you are not alone.”

—

[Image description: The photo centres a tall, rectangular greeting card made of cream-coloured paper, out of which the silhouette of a sitting cat has been cut to reveal a background of brown autumn leaves. The card is leaning against the white pot of a green houseplant, and there are more potted plants standing near it.]

More about the garden gnome and the giant: [part 1] [part 2]

#cat #cut-out card #catsilhouette #houseplants #greeting card #friendship #giant #garden gnome #photography #flash fiction #a story a day #paranatellonta milestone #pinterest-inspired card #cats #silhouettecards #autumnleavescard #365 #for every day

[paranatellonta]

Autumnal Company

The tape snail shuffled into the autumn afternoon with a warm, mushroom-patterned sock around its tail.

“Hello,” I said with a puzzled smile.

“Hi—what are you doing?” the tape snail asked.

“I’m painting. Sorry to say this so bluntly, but I’m not sure I need any tape from you right now.”

“Oh.” I’d never known a tape snail could deflate, but here it was, deflated.

“Having some company is nice though,” I adjusted quickly, and in the same impossible way as it had managed to look disappointed, it now beamed.

“I really like the scent of your chai,” it admitted, “it smells of…cosiness.”

“All the more so now that you’ve joined it on the desk, don’t you think?” I said, and the snail twirled its roll of tape around in a happy little purr.

—

[Image description: Photo looking down at a wooden desk with at the front a cup of frothy chai latte. Behind it on the right lies a pink-and-blue pen and metal box, and behind that there’s a larger wooden box with brown paper tape and a pack of coloured pens. On the left of the cup there’s a paper pad with watercolour paintings of stones. A plastic box of watercolours is standing on the back of the cover so it can’t fall shut over the painting, and to the left of it is a card with square colour samples. Behind the pad is a small plastic tape dispenser, and at the back left of the picture lies a brown envelope.]

#chai latte #autumn #painting #watercolor #desk #photography #flash fiction #tape snail #tape dispenser #watercolour #aquarelle #cosy #snail #364 #autumnal company

[paranatellonta]

Fractured Concealment

No one was going to look for secrets inside a fracture that seemed to have healed.

That was the theory, at least. And for generations of dragons, it held true. The secret of human magic had been passed on from hoard to hoard, and no one had even considered claiming the small, red bowl that preserved hidden knowledge in the gold lacquer of its cracks.

It was just Maximilliana’s luck that a couple of humans stumbled upon her cave that day. After evolution had left her tiny enough to hide behind the largest gemstone of a giant’s necklace, with a growl that would make about as much of an impression as a cat’s purr, she’d have to watch this disaster unfold in a green tinge and about 58 facets. Because who could believe it would end well if humans got their hands on their own power, when unleashing it was as simple as smashing the bowl to the floor?

To her surprise, that never happened. Slipping into the bag of stolen treasures, Maximilliana was carried along to the museum where they put the tiny bowl on display. They protected it and praised it for its value, but always continued to have the wrong idea about what made this damaged object so incredibly important.

—

[Image description: Photo of a small, red bowl glued together with gold lacquer, on the surface of a wooden table.]

#kintsugi #dragon #fractures #gold lacquer #photography #flash fiction #fractured concealment #363

[paranatellonta]

Summer Salad

I made the mistake of leaving the window open while I was tossing the pasta salad. The scent of fresh herbs engulfed me, and before I knew it, a tall creature had crept into my home, body and face both hidden in large flaps of loose clothing in every possible shade of brown. Ignoring—or perhaps not hearing—my protests, the figure stalked towards the kitchen counter and dug its long claws into the pot. It lifted its hands and let the slick goodness of fusilli and salad leaves run between its fingers, allowed it to fall down its arms and to the floor tiles with a wet splat. Outside, a storm was brewing, sending cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls into a juggling act as wild as the whirling thoughts in my head. Somehow, olives crunched between the creature’s teeth like crisp bug shells. Soundtracking itself with Dionysian groans, it emptied the pot of pasta salad, and then continued to lick every last drop of oil off its wrists, its elbows, its shoulders.

It was still hot. A moist 25°C stuck my shirt to my back. But everywhere, autumn was creeping in on the green of nature—even in my pot of pasta salad.

—

[Image description: Close-up of a colourful pasta salad in a metal pot. The salad includes lettuce, basil, olives, tomato pieces, and mozzarella.]

#pasta salad #seasons #autumn #changing seasons #slipstream #photography #flash fiction #food #summer salad #362

[paranatellonta]

A Train of Peas

When Peacock was very young, he’d assembled himself a train out of peas. Everyone around him had these majestic tails—even the turkeys on the next farm over.

As the years went by, his friends evolved: the eyes on their trains were exchanged for screens, their meat was swapped out for metal, and their quills came to serve as antennas that only received a signal when they pointed at the sky, allowing the nights to be quiet. Some of those antennas ended in blasters, ready to shoot in every direction.

Peacock still dreamed of his own tail, but in the current climate, no one would spend time on something as frivolous as a decorative source of personal euphoria. He’d have to come up with a solution himself.

He scratched and he tore, he cut and he painted, and finally he was ready. Without a long tail to bear him down, he was much lighter and could fly higher than any of his friends. Now, a large banner trailed behind him in the sky, sending a message to all parties, both directly and through the screens shared by all the other peacocks in the world. It might be that no one had ever been awed by his tail of peas, but they’d definitely be impressed if he were able to bring peace.

—

[Image description: Photo of a colourful origami sculpture of a peacock with its tail on display. On the left in the background, part of a TV screen is visible; the rest of the background is mostly dark.]

—

Atthis Arts has launched a new and important Kickstarter campaign today: Embroidered Worlds: an anthology of fantastic stories from Ukraine and the Diaspora, edited by Valya Dudycz Lupescu, Olha Brylova, and Iryna Pasko. Please consider supporting this campaign, as it’s more important than ever for Ukrainian voices in speculative fiction to be heard widely.

#peacock #alexander #origami 3D #paper sculpture #peace #photography #flash fiction #a train of peas #361

[paranatellonta]

Scrutiny

- written by Minerva Cerridwen; photo by Ava Kelly

For ten years the humans had schemed, constructed, and carefully coaxed, and now they’d achieved their goal. Under the guise of a furniture-building company, they were finally invited in the realm of the gods to deliver the new cabinet they had designed: fit to hold divine ideas and otherworldly suggestions in a neat system of transparent folders. What was much more important, at least to the humans behind this great plan, were the loads of cameras, microphones, and wiretap installations integrated everywhere in, on, and around the cabinet.

They had spent so much time praying for a sign. If the gods weren’t going to send any clear answers on what the Right Way was for them to live, the humans would simply force them to reveal their secrets.

The employees who made the delivery didn’t get to spend much time in the godly realm, as the filing cabinet had been meticulously prepared and was easy to assemble—but that didn’t matter, because they would soon learn much more about that mysterious place anyway. The recording came through, clear and uninterrupted, and at first it was just a series of exclamations from the gods about how beautiful the cabinet was, how much easier the new filing system would make their work.

But then one of the gods introduced the first suggestion that would be placed into the folders: “You know how humans think we can constantly see everything they are doing? Maybe it’d be a good idea to actually start spying on them, if they’re coming up with such wonderful inventions. I’m sure we could learn a lot!”

—

[Image description: On a background of slightly wrinkled white sheets of paper, there is a smattering of long, silvery steel nails and very-dark-red glass spheres; white light falls onto the objects in such a way that bright red shadows from the spheres contrast with the black shadows of the nails and paper wrinkles.]

—

Links to the artists’ websites and social media: [x]

#nails #gods #mythology #cabinet #furniture assembly #fantasy #flash fiction #photography #scrutiny #anniversary #10 years #360th edition #para 360 #ava kelly #guest photographer #360