Teeny Tiny Tales #16
"In February there is everything to hope for and nothing to regret."-- Patience Strong. 2.5.25 through 2.11.25
This is where I present my daily microfiction stories, mostly based on the past week’s prompts from The Fiction Dealer. By posting my humble tales - the good, bad, silly, and indifferent - I hope to inspire others to allow their creativity to come out and play.
Teeny Tiny Tales #1 - Teeny Tiny Tales #2 - Teeny Tiny Tales #3 - Teeny Tiny Tales #4 - Teeny Tiny Tales #5 -Teeny Tiny Tales #6 - Teeny Tiny Tales #7 - Teeny Tiny Tales #8 - Teeny Tiny Tales #9 - Teeny Tiny Tales #10 - Teeny Tiny Tales #11 - Teeny Tiny Tales #12 - Teeny Tiny Tales #13 - Teeny Tiny Tales #14 - Teeny Tiny Tales #15
February 5, 2025
Microdosing - 100 mg of a Rope
My beloved Rusty had died. So when Father Joe told us that heaven was only for God's people, I piped up and announced, "It's for doggies, too."
Surprised by this childish heresy, Father Joe doubled down, "No, only humans have souls, not animals."
I bristled. "Dogs do too have souls! Dogs go to heaven! Mommy said so!"
At the end of his rope, Father Joe called my mother to bring me home early. I never repented.
Fifty years later, Pope Francis said, " Paradise is open to all of God’s creatures." Dogs do too go to heaven. So there, Father Joe! 🐶
February 6, 2025
Microdosing - 60 mg of Teardrops
She rushed to the playroom as her husband and son screamed. Teardrops flowed, as they howled with laughter.
Billy shouted, "Mommy, look what Daddy taught me," blatting out a loud, wet raspberry.
Father and son nervously watched her shocked face. Suddenly she grinned and stuck out her own tongue, producing the loudest raspberry ever. The walls shook with raucous glee.
February 7, 2025
Microdosing - 80 mg of Compost
Billy was the undisputed champion of hide and seek. Determined to beat him, Joe borrowed his father's hunting dog, Shep. But Billy was wise to him...
Shep searched everywhere, but never caught a whiff of Billy. Admitting defeat, Joe shouted, "Olly olly in come free!" Billy emerged from the compost heap, looking like a zombie and smelling worse. He had to take a bath (in the middle of the week!), but the look on Joe's face made it all worthwhile
February 8, 2025
Microdosing - 60 mg of a Volcano
Volcanoes vomit vrooming, violent, violet vapors,
Veerily vouchsafing verdant vegetated vales,
Venting vast, variant velocity.
Vibrating vicious vitriol, vehiculating venom, voiding vast veel.
Vermin violate viands, vehement varmints vaporize.
Vortexes vet vertigo,
Verses varnish violence,
Vassals vault valiantly, vowing volleys.
Venturing villains value vain veneer.
Villanize, victimize, vanitize, vaporize...
Vamoosh.
****
Volcanic voices vanish,
Valor generates veracity, vapulates vengeance, vindicates victory.
February 9, 2025
Gibberish - Flash Fiction Friday
Assignment: A flash Fiction story about a character who likes causing trouble, someone learning to use a new tool, including the phases “like leaden echoes” and “it's all I had.”
The Seeds of Loving Kindness
Highlighted on Flash Fiction Friday (2.14.25) 🤗
Rose was the sort of old woman that Betty always figured to be a troublemaker, the kind of person that sticks her nose in where it isn't wanted. But Mary, her young daughter, thought that Rose looked kind of nice.
Betty was shouting at Mary. She'd put a package of string cheese into the shopping cart, thinking her mother would be pleased that she'd chosen a healthy snack. But Betty was not pleased.
"Ex-CUSE me, just what do you think you're doing," she snapped. Before Mary had a chance to even squeak, her mother's mouth was off and running, belittling, berating, bruising whatever scraps of confidence and happiness survived in Mary's young heart. Rose watched quietly, pretending to check the eggs in her own cart for cracks. Mary noticed that she'd already examined the same eggs three times.
Her mother's grating voice invaded her thoughts. "I said that you need to apologize to me. RIGHT now!"
Mary stared down at her feet, mortified. "Sorry, Mommy, " she murmured, as the tears finally began to flow.
"WHAT did you say? I can't hear you! Look at me when you speak," ordered Betty imperiously.
Rose had put down her eggs and was striding towards them. "Uh oh," thought Mary, "She'll only make things worse." But there was something about the kind eyed woman that comforted Mary.
"Excuse me, ma'am," Rose interrupted, "but I was standing ten feet away and I could hear her just fine. Perhaps there's something wrong with your hearing?" Mary was horrified. Nobody’d ever spoken to her mother like that before!
Betty slowly looked up and sneered at the impudent stranger. "Why don't you mind your own business, you old witch?" Rose just smiled and waved her hand, creating an invisible barrier that shielded them from the other shoppers.
"Got it in one, you're brighter than you look," she replied to the sputtering mother. She turned her gaze to Mary. "Little girl, do you love your mother?"
"Yes, yes, of course I love Mommy," Mary protested. Despite her mother's cruelty, Mary indeed loved her.
"Oh well, I’ve had more practice with the killing curse, but since you love her, I'll have to try out a new tool." Turning back to the dumbfounded mother, she pronounced, "Your tongue is too sharp. You must learn to soften your speech. Usually I would just use the cutting spell and cause your sharp words to slice off your tongue, but since your good girl loves you, you'll just FEEL like they're cutting you - just pain, no damage. So let it be." She waved her hand. Betty just stared at her like she was insane.
"Why you nasty, interfering," she began, but could not finish. Her hands flew to her mouth as it filled with intense pain.
"Don't worry, if you behave yourself the pain will fade in a few minutes. But you must be kinder to your precious girl!" She reached out to pat the child's hand and then saw the mottled bruise on her wrist. "Oh, you poor thing. It looks like I need to add a little something to the curse." Looking up at Betty, she intoned, "If you strike your daughter again, or try to hurt her in any other way, you will find that she is now impervious to your torture. Anything you try to do to her will instead happen to you. So let it be." Turning to Mary, she said one last thing. "If you ever need my help again, just think of me and I will come."
"Okay," Mary promised. "You're a nice witch woman, aren't you?" The little girl was not afraid, just curious. Her mother had never been silenced for so long before.
"Yes, dear, of course I am," Rose replied. "For your mother's sake, I hope we never meet again. But I wish you well." Bestowing a last smile upon the child, she disappeared. Betty abandoned her shopping cart and silently bundled her daughter home.
********
Days passed. Betty quickly learned to curb her speech, but her anger grew unabated. Finally, she snapped, and swung a wooden hairbrush at Mary's head. Mary flinched when it connected with a sound like a leaden echo, but suddenly realized that it didn't hurt. She looked up at her mother and saw Betty grimacing and holding her head. Mary realized that the curse had worked its magic, but Betty was too blind with fury to think. She picked up the poker from the fireplace and raised it high above her daughter's head. "Mommy, no, don't," she cried. Betty ignored her and swung down forcefully. The poker hit Mary's head, but caused no pain or damage, but a large gash appeared on Betty's head, and down she fell.
Mary stared for a minute and began to cry. "Oh, Witch Lady, I need help!" And suddenly, magically, Rose was there.
"Oh, dear, dear, your mother is a stubborn one." Rose looked down at Betty and sighed. She touched Betty's torn scalp, and Mary saw it begin to heal before her eyes.
Rose looked sad. "It's all I had, I can do no more for her. She will need to figure out how to help herself." She looked at Mary. "I suppose you would like me to remove the curse?"
"Yes, yes, please," cried Mary, "She can't help it!"
"That may be true, but she can't keep hurting you," Rose explained. She thought for a moment. "Very well, I will remove the curse, but I can't leave you here. Are you willing to come with me? If your mother ever learns to control her anger, you can be reunited, but I fear her abuse will poison your sweet, kind nature if you stay here."
Mary looked long and hard at her mother. She loved her, but she knew Rose spoke truely. Maybe if Mary was gone, her mother might get better. "Okay." Mary looked up at Rose. “Can you maybe do one more thing? Is there any way to fix her?"
Rose touched Betty's head again and a small light passed between them. "I've planted the seed of human kindness within her brain. It's up to her to tend it, so it will germinate and flourish." She waved her hand again. "The curse is gone. Come, good child, let's go home." She took Mary's hand and they disappeared.
********
Betty awoke. She felt her scalp and felt a small scar, but it was completely healed. She looked about. Mary was gone, but she saw a note on the table:
Dear Mommy,
I love you, but I know that I am not safe with you. I have gone to a good, happy place. Please learn the ways of love and kindness, and someday I'll come home. Farewell for now.
Love,
Mary
Betty held her face in her hands, weeping bitter tears of remorse. As the seed of kindness began to sprout, she took the first step towards healing.
February 10, 2025
❤ Microdosing - 50 mg of Dreaming ❤
Valentine's Week Prompts ("let's make this week sweet as a cupcake" -- )
I once scaled great mountains,
Risking my life for fame.
But since the day I met you,
My heart's never been the same.
Enjoying the life of adventure,
I longed for the cry and the hue.
'Twas once so intriguing,
But I'd rather be sleeping,
Dreaming a life with you.
February 11, 2025
❤ Microdosing - 100 mg of Vows ❤
Valentine's Week Prompts ("let's make this week sweet as a cupcake" -- )
My recent separation still stung, but I pushed away my envy, and congratulated my grandparents on their anniversary.
"Sixty years! Man, that's amazing! How do you do it?"
Grandpa took me aside. "Kid, the stuff about better or worse, richer or poorer, sickness and health, loving and cherishing, that's the easy part. Remember to love her through anger and forgiveness, sadness and happiness, to insanity and beyond. Life changes, but the love's always there. The biggest part of the vows: It's never too late to apologize."
As he returned to Grandma, I pulled out my phone to call my wife.
All those V words! Reminds me of…
https://open.substack.com/pub/petermoore/p/that-time-i-pissed-into-a-volcano?r=4g2k&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Jeannine -- the first two photos are just a love letter for your birds. They are great pictures also and I loved zooming them for each of the birds. These are in importance of my opinion of my own observation from important to just wondering
(1) the picture you provide and the scene you capture with Buttercup is beautiful
(2) Having worked many years ago in a place that took me to industrial food production, the group photo of the bird just made me smile. They look well cared for and genuinely part of a great place.
(3) That flexible conduit plug doesn't look like anything I can pick up at Home Depot!