Morning uncovers the forests and the fields from the cool mist.
The sunlight reveals patches of gold, orange and red, the treasures of autumn hiding in the green. Soon every tree will become a work of art, the beauty of the passing time. The colours shine the brightest before they’re gone. Before winter erases every memory of beauty, to start everything anew. Winter comes as a blank piece of paper, a white canvas waiting to be filled with new stories. Every story born into existence is a child with his eyes full of wonder. White winter snows hide countless unborn stories, sleeping, hibernating, waiting for the storyteller to cradle them, and carry them into the warm sun for the world to see.
Soon the air will be full of birds finding their invisible celestial paths to Southern warmth. Soon the autumn colours will shine. If only for a moment, if only for a tiny fraction of eternity, we all want to shine. And we do. When we let our brightest colours show, when we live to the fullest, when we reveal the beauty of our souls to the world through the best of our work, we shine.
Just a little bit of flash ficiton and poetry…
Cold
“Don’t be frightened, it’s a minor side-effect,” said the doctor, while she felt her regenerated skin turn cold as ice. It didn’t matter. Not even when Eric refused to have sex with her, because he said her body was freezing cold. Sissy! Freya smiled at her own perfectly youthful reflection in the mirror. No cost was too high, no procedure too expensive or too experimental to look like a twenty-year-old again. Nothing mattered but her perfectly smooth skin, not even the numbing coldness overtaking her tissue ever deeper, until one morning Eric found her lying naked by the mirror, frozen to death; a cold smile on her lips, her perfect skin covered in a layer of ice.
For Sammy
Lying on the floor,
Lips pursed, feeling cute,
I didn’t hear your call.
Why do we fall?
*
We rise to fall,
Until nothing,
Nothing at all,
Comes as a surprise.
*
Dry your eyes, mate,
It’s not you, it’s me
I hate.
It’s late.
*
Don’t wait
Up for me tonight.
I’m on the flight
That fell.
*
From Heaven to Hell,
Don’t tell me,
You’ll forgive.
I won’t live.
*
Long enough to
See your regret.
Please, forget!
Forget we ever met.
So… I have some news about the book. It’s coming soon. My first ever self-published book “The Last Daughter of Wolves” will be published on October 24. Currently, the Ebook version is available to pre-order. Sadly, the paperback is still in review.
It’s a dark fantasy with a romantic subplot, set in a cold, winterly world. It’s a stand-alone, though I’ve planned a series of connected stand-alones set in the same world. It’s a short novella, only 29k words.
It does deal with mature themes, but I really hope you’ll like it. I think it goes well with the vibes of dark autumn evenings, Halloween, and the upcoming winter.
An excerpt from “The Last Daughter of Wolves”:
Stella hadn’t held a spoon in her hand for quite a while. At first her moves were awkward, and she spilled the porridge all over her chest, but she did better with every spoonful.
“Do not dare to laugh, youngsters! Or you’ll have to deal with me!” Gerdi threatened the servants and maids, who kept staring and smirking at Stella’s efforts. All went quiet, turning their eyes to their own bowls of food; no one was eager to go without a warm meal tomorrow.
“Eat up, child! Heaven knows why Lord Rufus brought you here, but you’ll need the strength to withstand him tomorrow. Eat and rest!”
Gerdi was kind enough to bring Stella a small straw sack and a blanket for bedding, though Stella did not ask for it.
“Rest, you are safe here. At least until morning.” Gerdi nodded and left Stella alone in the darkened kitchen.
She laid listening to the wolves howl far away in the snow-covered forests. Oh, how she wished to be there! Even if it meant staying without a warm meal and Julian’s boots. She listened to the firewood crackling in the hearth. The soothing lullaby of the roaring flames sang her to sleep. In the tiny space between wakefulness and sleep she remembered Julian kneeling before her and smiling.
If you wish to pre-order the Ebook, it’s available here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJDCV4MN?ref_=pe_93986420_775043100
Also, I plan to re-publish it here after October 24, but under a paywall.
As for my Substack schedule:
On Monday, October 7, I’m sharing a horror flash fiction story Ferns.
On Friday, October 10, I’m sharing another flash fiction chapter from my Sci-fi novelette The Gravediggers of Orpheus.
On Saturday, October 12, it’s time for Chapter 4 of my dark fantasy The Last Daughter of Dragons
I might share a romantic flash fiction on Thursday.
Or I might finish one of my million non-fiction essays, and post it.
On Sundays I share some thoughts, short pieces and news. AND A HUGE THANK YOU to you, lovely readers.
Love,
Kathrine 🩶
Great poem Kathrine ✨💜✨