Tiny Stories Collection: A Little Horror

A misty ribbon appeared every time I said his name. Thinking it was his ghost, I followed it into the forest. It was only when its hungry tendrils squeezed the life from my body that I realized my mistake. It wasn’t his ghost, but its maker.

*

They told me the desert was dry, so when the strange luminescent rain fell I scrambled for cover. The animals drifted, like moving paintings, into its downpour. It’s why they’ll survive. Me? I’m another sad song waiting to be sung.

*

Each car brings me my face in a window. It whizzes by in a series of discordant poses. All of them hostile. Menacing. Then one car stops. My reflection’s face contorts. I hear its scream in the glass. “I want my body back!”

*

Microfiction: Discord

“It’s chunky. Bloated,” he retorted, personally offended. “Makes you think of pregnant mud huts, rather than the imperial spires of Rome.”
She patted his hand sympathetically. “It’s alright, dear,” she soothed. “It’s only Arial. I’ll use Times New Roman tomorrow.”

Haiku: Fairy Pond

fairy pond
our reflections dance
with fireflies

Flash Fiction: Army

“Shut up, Botface!” Eliza shouted at the computer screen.

Her mother blinked. “Botface? That’s not very nice.”

Eliza pouted. “It’s not fair,” she explained. “They’re everywhere I go. They watch me. They won’t leave me alone.”

Her mother’s expression softened with understanding. She crossed the distance between them, and wrapped her daughter in a warm hug. “They’re not real, sweetheart. They’re only…” She struggled to find the words. “Computer programmes, acting like people. They only exist on websites.”

Eliza seemed unsure. “They said they can see me,” she whispered into her mother’s sweater. “They have an army, and they’re going to take us over one by one.”

“They say all sorts of things to scare you. They can’t do any of that because they’re not real people.”

Eliza seemed to accept this. “Okay,” she sniffed.

Her mother tucked her in and turned off the nightlight. “Whenever they bother you, ignore them,” she told the little girl. “They’re only make-believe.”

She blew her a kiss from the doorway, eased the door shut, and smiled. She missed the glint of metallic eyes in the shadows.

Graphic Design: Designing a Watercolour Painting

Yes, you heard right. And no, I didn’t know I could do that either.

If you’ve seen my previous posts, you’ll know that I’ve been creating composite art in Canva by combining and editing multiple graphics. Canva has a wide array of free graphic elements to choose from. This week I discovered something delightful. These elements include (cue excitement) watercolour splashes!

Of course, I got right to work experimenting. This is what I created last night.

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It wasn’t the same as taking a paintbrush and letting loose on canvas, but there was something very freeing about putting colours wherever you want, just because. I do quite like how the colours turned out.

The background is an amalgamation of different watercolour splashes. The flowers at the front were made using a Canva-supplied graphic element that I edited for saturation, lighting, transparency, hue, etc. to the get the colours I wanted.

And of course, who would I be if I didn’t make more character graphics? Another delightful discovery has been Instagram reels. The ability to make little videos from your graphics and add music to them? Count me in.

Here’s a couple I made for Onyx the kitty.

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A post shared by Isabel Caves (@isabelcaves)

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A post shared by Isabel Caves (@isabelcaves)

Tanka: Sky

the sky, blue
like an alien planet
sleeping
I see your face
in every impossibility

Poetry: Unreal

when you
unreal-ed
I was there
I saw
your face.
unreal

I wondered
what made you
that way
your eyes
once blinking
unreal

Tanka: Sunflowers

wild sunflowers
on a windy day
blowing
there! your face again
among the stems

Microfiction: Time

Time, you are not my friend. We travel together, but you take things from me. You hide pieces of my heart in your tail. But I have been busy. I have built a weapon of sleek metal and glowing buttons. You will not take from me again.

Microfiction: Belle of the Ball

“Well? Was it successful?”

He peers into the cauldron. “The potion is a stunning shade of dragon-green. Drink this and you’ll be the belle of the ball.”

“It’s not supposed to be dragon-green!”

“You did say you wanted something mythical.”

“I said mystical, idiot. Mystical.”