Author: marylowd

The Soul of the Forest

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023

“You are not the soul of the forest. I know this forest, and its voice does not sound like yours.”

The trunks of the trees stretched up toward a sky blocked out by clusters and clumps of orange and red autumnal leaves.  The trunks were smooth, black, regular.  Minutus loped between them, slaloming through the woods on long legs, bushy with her burgeoning winter coat.  She was alone.  She’d been alone since her latest litter had grown into full-coated, long-legged adult wolves of their own.  With their own lives. Continue reading “The Soul of the Forest”

When the Universe Listens

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023

“The universe didn’t blink in our staring match, it redefined how staring matches work by growing additional eyes.”

The universe is fundamentally composed of irony.  We live in a story, and that story has a genre.  It is a satire.  Let me repeat the most important idea here:  the fundamental building block of the universe, the smallest, indivisible component is irony.  When you take an umbrella, and so it doesn’t rain — dramatic irony.  The viewer, whoever or whatever exists outside the universe, or perhaps simply the personality of the universe itself gets to laugh at you.  It knows; you didn’t.  Dramatic irony. Continue reading “When the Universe Listens”

Rumpel’s Gift

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023

“As the blood and teardrops mixed with the sound of Heidi’s urgently whispered cursing, an electric chill filled the room. Heidi looked up to see a man standing in the doorway.”

Each stitch was a nightmare.  Heidi stabbed her fingertip, jamming the pointy needle through the unruly fabric.  Sometimes the fabric bunched up into a stiff, impenetrable clump under the needle’s point.  Other times, the needle sailed through… only for Heidi to find she’d accidently sewn two layers of the ballgown together.  Then she had to rip the stitches out, taking her further from the finish line. Continue reading “Rumpel’s Gift”

Speed Questing

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023

“The plesiosaur wasn’t showing up as an attackable creature. She flipped open her adventurer’s log and scanned through it, trying hurriedly to find the right quest text and read it.”

QuestCrusher20 zipped through the zone, zooming from one quest to the next without reading the text.  She didn’t need to.  Just follow the dots on the game map, and like breadcrumbs they led her from a cluster of satyrcorns to kill for their horns to an area strewn with mecha gears that the friendly robots of Robotica needed her to gather.  Quest after quest, she could figure them out on the fly, and it only slowed her down to read the flavor text or listen to the NPCs tell their backstories. Continue reading “Speed Questing”

Huckle’s Puddle

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023

“Who are you?” Huckle asked, almost flubbing the words and saying to the imposter-reflection, “Who am I?”

The water splashed under Huckle’s boot in the most satisfying way. Repeated little stomps made smacking sounds and rapid ripples.  Big stomps from running jumps made a slapping sound and spattered the water high enough to annoy his dad.

“Come on,” Terrence said, grabbing his eight-year-old son’s hand and pulling lightly enough to cajole the boy but not hard enough to hurt him.  “If we hurry, we can make it to both Arrin Abbey and the Westle Church before lunch.  Wouldn’t that be fun?”  Terrence spoke with the tightness in his voice that meant he was trying not to sound annoyed.  But he was.  Huckle could tell.  And Huckle decided to push at him. Continue reading “Huckle’s Puddle”

Greatest of Them All

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023

“She could be all the creatures the soul had seen and more beside.”

Once upon a time, there was a soul that wanted to anchor itself into the world.  The soul watched all the creatures in the world, trying to decide what shape its anchor should take.

The mouse was small and could explore tiny places.

The deer had long legs and could run through the woods.

The bird had wings and could soar through the sky. Continue reading “Greatest of Them All”