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Business Card StoriesI have extremely short stories printed on the back of my business cards. I'm posting them here so that everyone gets a chance to read all of them.
Ordinary Bear
By Sandra Tayler
The teddy bear was ordinary, brown with black eyes and tan paws. That was what tipped Abranda off. In a room full of beautiful, expensive toys, the bear was ordinary. She reached for it, but found herself holding a cashmere cat instead. The cat was beautiful. Abranda stroked the soft fur, then put it back, and turned away. Three steps away, Abranda remembered the bear. She looked at the bear again. It stared back, motionless, ordinary. Abranda checked her instruments. They were vibrating oddly. In the absence of magic they rested in the null position. In the presence of magic they indicated the strength and form of the magic. The needle vibrated in the “null” position. This room contained a complex spell enforcing normalcy. The source of the curse afflicting the Prefect’s daughter was in this room. Abranda scowled again at the bear. It stared back blankly. Who knew that such malevolence could be so … ordinary.
Copyright 2005 Sandra Tayler All Rights Reserved
Lost
By Sandra Tayler
Alex was a very literal child, so his mother should not have said “Go lose yourself in a book.” She had guests coming and needed him out of the way.
Alex left the spotless kitchen, careful not to leave fingerprints on the banister. He went to the shelf with children’s books lined up by size. He looked through books, replacing each one on the shelf. Mother didn’t like messes. Finally he selected the one he wanted. He liked this book. It was old and ratty, the pages weren’t glossy and the pictures had no angles, only curves. Alex turned pages at the corners as he’d been taught. He found the perfect page.
When bedtime came, Alex’s mother looked up from her lists and felt the silence. Alex was nowhere to be found. His mother ran to the bookcase. A single book lay on the floor. She snatched it up and rapidly scanned pages. There he was, among the Whos, joyfully singing with no Christmas at all. She’d never seen him so happy.
Copyright 2005 Sandra Tayler All Rights Reserved
Ghost Train
By Sandra Tayler
2 pm is not the time you expect to see ghosts. Ghosts belong in darkness and spooky places like graveyards or old houses, not in fields full of bright sunflowers on a summer afternoon. Yet the whistle rang in my ears, and the ground shook with the rumble of wheels. I could smell the smoke from the coal burning engine and the wind of passage was chill against my face. Of all my senses, only my eyes could not perceive the train. An electric chill crept up my spine and my hair all began to stand on end. I wanted to flee from this unknown thing that was turning my perceptions of the world inside out. Kyle's small hand crept into my own and his voice was hushed, "It comes every Thursday. I like to be here to wave at them. I think it makes them happy."
Copyright 2005 Sandra Tayler All Rights Reserved |
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