Stories (9)
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The Empty Kingdom
The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished. The golden hour, which once symbolized her waking each day, maintained a steady, somber blue. The short, cut grass in the valleys beyond her palace did not gain their ritual dew. The once-pleasant morning breeze stifled the air. Lethargic wildlife cluttered the massive forests. Only a few rose from their nests.
By Nicholas Groganabout a year ago in Fiction
Muddy Dragons
You know… They never tell you how the first pull of the silky white smoke immediately perverts your mind. That first sensation makes you willfully ignorant to the burning powder’s lingering vinegar stench. How, right after your first dragon hunt, you strategize how to be more effective in your succeeding chases. The art of smoking from aluminum foil replaced by heated spoons, needles, brown bubbling water, and spotted inner elbows. In a matter of days, you become an in-home chemist and amateur nurse.
By Nicholas Grogan4 years ago in Fiction
The Hill Where It All Stood Still
He was dazed from the medicine when he came to. Shapes and a thick fog obscured his vision as the car he was in meandered along the highway as if there was nothing else to do but enjoy the ride. Noel collapsed while in a very important client meeting. The doctors recommended he take a break from his fast life and spend his days with family. His oldest, most troublesome, son agreed that Noel needed to rest for a while and offered to move him into the family home. Noel rested against the window, arms folded and turned away from his son as the car decelerated through the exit. “Oh,” Noel said, “They added a highway by the house.” Shane scoffed, “Had you been over here more, you’d know it’s been here.” So much for small talk. The car slowed as they pulled into the old home’s driveway. A large colonial style home nestled among a large area of land. Land which was previously vast and isolated, surrounded now by suburban developments and interstate. The silence replaced by the hustle of the city.
By Nicholas Grogan4 years ago in Fiction
A Vice at Every Corner
She’d always told Momma that the big city was her dream. The dazzling lights enraptured her from the modest cottage home she had always known. Distant sounds of speeding vehicles, cheers from whatever stadium and fireworks only grew her curiosity. Momma was never discouraging. But always warning Sydney, “All ain’t what it seems, darling. Take what you can without losing who you are.” The stern undertone of warning behind those words never actually caught on to in the height of Sydney’s infatuation. “Baby,” Momma would call to her, “Be careful up there. Stay too long in the clouds, eventually a storm will push you back down to the Earth.” Sydney would always respond, “Yes, Momma,” ending their conversation.
By Nicholas Grogan5 years ago in Fiction
