Tales From The Town #22: The Slide

There was a slide under the stairs. They didn’t know where it went. They didn’t have a cellar or a basement. Or, at least, they hadn’t before.

“I’m not going down that slide,” Ethel said. “Not ever!”

“You’re scared!” Claire said triumphantly. “I’m not scared.”

“You are!” Ethel said. “You’re just pretending you aren’t.”

“I’m not!” Look! I’ll show you!”

And with that Claire sat down on the slide and slid off into the dark. It took a while, but eventually her screams faded out to nothingness.

No-one spoke for a very long time. They thought they could hear Claire calling, but it was just Anna and Oya having tea in the kitchen.

“Well, I’m not going down there to find out where’s gone,” Tina said.

“No am I,” Ethel agreed. “Not ever.”

“Daniel?” Tina asked.

“Nah.”

The three of them went off to play in the garden.

_________

Notes:

1. Written on May 6th, 2021

I Was A Witch Once

I was a witch once. I used to help out in the summer, when the tourists were here, and the covens couldn’t cope with demand. I did luck spells mostly, lucky in love, lucky in spite, lucky in fruit machines, that sort of thing.

I don’t do it anymore. The covens have all closed down now. Everything’s online these days. Some old witch out there in her hut on the marsh can’t cope with some streamlined Russian wish farm or whatever. Now it’s all spells delivered by email spam, targeted facebook ads, unsolicited twitter DMs. No need anymore to slip something in someone’s tea. You can reach anyone.

It’s not the same, of course. But then again what is?

__________

Notes

1. Written on September 2nd, 2021
2. Although the title and half the first paragraph was written August 13th, 2021

Tales From The Town #20: Dimensional Perception

The goldfish swam about in their tank. Round and around and around. There was nowhere else for them to go.

“Do you think they can see us?” Daniel asked, as he peered in at them through the glass.

“I hope not,” Tina said. “How would you like it if you looked out the window and some strange giant was staring in at you?”

“Like David!”

“Or Simon!”

“That’d be so weird,” Daniel agreed.

“Anyway, of course they can see us,” Claire said. “They’re goldfish no blindfish!”

But what if their brains can’t even perceive our existence?” Tina said. “Like those frogs that can only see flies if they’re flying around like flies?”

“Those frogs are stupid!” Claire said. “My goldfish aren’t stupid.”

“You’re stupid!” Ethel said.

“I am not stupid!”

“Imagine if there’s things out there watching us right now that we can’t perceive,” Daniel said, as he peered slowly out the window. “Just because they don’t move like people!”

“Like David!”

“And Simon!”

“That’d be so weird!”

The goldfish swam about in their tank. Round and around and around. There was nowhere else for them to go.

________

Notes:

1. Written on May 4th, 2021
2. I just realised that this is basically the end of that Moriarty episode on Star Trek
3. But with goldfish