Guess what? I can write something without "Ollie" in the title.
I have a friend who owns two little book stores with his wife. She came up with the idea of "Pixie Drops" - collections of micro-stories based on a common theme. I've submitted 5 or 6. These four somehow seem to fit together. Loss - Anger - Insecurity - Eternal Love.
These aren't stories you'd typically find on this amazing site. There's only one section that even has a little implied sex. But I think you still might enjoy them. And hey, if not, they're only around four to five hundred words each - your suffering will be brief.
Heads up, one story is 100% true. Another is 95% true. A third may have only been a dream - we'll never know. Oh, and the fourth is me giving my best Rod Serling impersonation.
One Last Question
“Mike! My god! How are you here? Wait, how am I here? Um, okay… So, why are we both here in the scary parking lot behind the fire station? The one we all know we’re never supposed to use because there are too many shadows, too many hiding places, and no lights.
“Let’s be honest, it’s also where you got shot during a mugging that went horribly wrong. Two weeks ago. I don’t know how else to say this my beautiful friend, but it’s where you died.”
“Aaron, buddy, you always have to overthink everything. Why can’t you just accept the gift we’ve been given? Come on… Lighten up. We get to talk to each other for one last time.”
I swallowed hard. “Mike, I love this - no question. But damn. I just got back from New York state where I sprinkled your ashes along a lake shore with your mother and your sisters. So, forgive me if I’m a little freaked. And, honestly, well… I really don’t feel safe here.”
“That was very kind of you my Aaron, you didn’t have to do that. And fuck! That eulogy you gave at my wake was perfect. You really stepped up. I appreciate it. You know, you really should think about switching to a career that gives you the opportunity to speak in front of an audience more often - you got skills buddy.
“What I’m telling you is, you deserve this. So, go on, ask your question.”
“My question?”
“Yes, the one that’s been eating you alive - and twisting your guts into knots - every night since I died. You know what it is.”
I couldn’t stop my tears, “Mike, you were the second person shot. And I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but that thought kills me. I need to know, were you afraid?”
He smiled softly, “Not at all my friend. I was pissed! Like you, I knew I shouldn’t be parking here - especially at night. I was being stupid so I could get to the party as fast as possible. But believe me, I wasn’t scared. I hope that eases your… guilt?
“Now I get to ask my question. Do you want to know how and when you die?”
My hands chilled and my eyes widened, “Seriously Mike? I don’t think I’m ready to know that yet. So, no. I’m sorry, is that okay?”
“Of course it is, my always introspective boy. Let me leave you with this: It’s no big deal, nothing to worry about at all. And it happens before I come back.”
I bolted upright in my bed. Gasping for breath - heart pounding, reaching for him in the dark. Our dream shattered like glass, leaving me alone with the one last question that will never be answered.
The Star Collector
The old man was out cursing at the stars again. Shaking his fist at the heavens, spittle flying from his lips. His outbursts were getting worse. After granting him everything he’d ever wished for, the stars were growing tired of his rants. He was racking up quite the debt.
Now it was time to collect.
My sudden appearance startled him. Still keeping in character, he immediately bristled and demanded, “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m a Star Collector.”
“What the fuck does that even mean? So what? You collect stars?”
“You misunderstand. I don’t collect stars. I collect debt for the stars. Every wish that’s made under starlight or at least ‘upon a star’ - that is… every one they choose to grant - comes at a cost. And they’ve always granted you your biggest wishes.
“Believe me sir, you owe them a lot.”
He scoffed. “What the hell are you talking about?! They’ve never answered a single one of my wishes. That’s why I curse them.”
“Really? Let’s recap…
“You wished for a soulmate - a life-long love. We convinced your best friend to invite you to that big pool party. You lost your nerve and bailed at the last minute.
“You wished for an exciting job - with unlimited potential. We arranged an interview with an influential recruiter who was willing to give you a generous job offer at a tech start-up. You thought it was too risky.”
My eyes narrowed, “The young man you should have met at the party would have been your perfect partner. That job? It would’ve allowed you to shine and made you a fortune.
“The stars held up their end of the bargain. You just kept saying - no.”
The old man finally fell silent.
“Most people get to repay their debt with their delight… their laughter… They allow the stars to share in the joy they’ve found. With an unspoken gratitude to the cosmos for a wonderful life that somehow managed to work out - against all odds.
“But you’ve only ever offered them bitterness, anger, and a hatred of the universe. My sad man, you’ve accumulated one of the largest debts I’ve ever seen. Big enough, in fact, to finish my career.
“You see, you’re my final collection. Your failures have just paid my debt in full. I’m going to be freed from my task a whole century ahead of schedule.”
I leaned in with a voice as chilling as a moonlit shadow. “I doubt you’ll be as lucky.”
I held my hand out. “It’s time to come with me.”
The Beach
Big Beach, Little Beach. Two sides of a very different coin known collectively as Makena - a sacred Hawaiian paradise for the gods.
The big guy was schizophrenic; he was never the same beach twice. One day he could be accommodating and inviting. The next, he was a bully blowing sand in your face. And the next… the bastard was earnestly trying to kill you with crushing 10-foot waves that broke only a few feet from the shore. Constantly pulling you back into the brutal surf. Taunting you; keeping you away from the haven of dry sand.
And on yet another dawn, that same sand would start the day invitingly as a 300-foot-wide swath of golden comfort and warmth. Only to shrink down to a narrow ten-foot strip of deceit - harrowingly squeezed between the jagged red cliffs and the dangerous sea - by that same afternoon.
Big’s whisper never changed: Play with me, and dance with death.
A steep pilgrimage over Makena’s ancient cinder cone - heel splitting as the climb could be - and the little guy always warmly welcomed you, gentle and soothing. A caring counterpoint to all his bigger companion’s chaos - yet as you already knew, the little guy was infinitely more terrifying. The waves there may be smaller, the surf may be safer, but the stakes were so much higher.
All the souls appreciating the view of Molokini and the calm ocean were secure in their celebration of life in their natural state. There was nothing between them and the comforting whisper of the ocean.
Little’s whisper was seductive, yet oh so daring: Let me embrace you in your nakedness and be free! Celebrate your openness with me.
But the lingering whispers of your adolescent doubts can never be unheard. Locker room rankings don’t lie. The first post P.E. gang shower with your classmates gave you a harsh illustration of exactly how you measured up. All your fears of being inadequate were cruelly confirmed. Leaving you with no way to hide your merit - or lack of it.
Makena himself leaned down to whisper to your fragile masculinity: You’re not worthy of hiking over my cinder cone today. Not you.
Cowering from your insecurities and stepping out into Big’s spray; his waves temptingly whispered: We’ll be gentle. And for a moment you believed them as they urged you to glide past them: We’re all just friends here, playing on a beautiful day.
Too late you desperately realized... You’ll never touch the dry sand again.
Kissed by Starlight
He was out again. Alone on his deck. Gazing over the dark meadow below, already in shadow, and focusing on the darkening forest beyond. He finally raised his eyes in a fervent attempt find me once more. He’s never failed to be my companion on a clear night like this.
But tonight was something rare, special, even enchanted. The air was still; my stars had manifested themselves as a million brilliant pin points of magic against the blackness of eternity.
It was a rare summer night that allowed my starlight to be so sharp, it challenged the Dawes Limit - the fine line between my celestial revelations and the limits of the human eye.
My boy, now my man, caught my gaze, longingly. He’s always loved me and always ached to see me as clearly as he could.
And I’ve loved him just as long and just as deeply. Since the first time I saw him look up, his young eyes wide with wonder. Mesmerized by the starlight of my Milky Way. I blushed when I saw myself reflected there. I immediately pledged that I’ve never leave his adoring eyes.
My heart swelled as I witnessed his first time to catch a glimpse of Andromeda with his naked eye. His awe moved me to tears. I rewarded him with a spectacular meteor shower as my gift in return.
But tonight was an exceptional night; one I couldn't resist. I took a form familiar to him. Tall. Pale. Masculine, while still kind and comforting. I approached him as if we’d known each other for ever. Because we had.
He didn’t flinch. With a stunned yet knowing look, he simply opened his arms to me. In that first boundless embrace, we explored the heavens through my eyes and the earth through his soul. Our intimate dance unfolding in a hallowed eternity between my galaxies and his fields and forests.
When at last he rested against me, he glowed with a new starlight rising from within, born of our union between heaven and earth.
He woke just before dawn, as the eastern sky began to pale. He reached for my hand, trying to hold me to him. I leaned down and kissed him softly.
“Please stay,” he whispered. “I love you.”
“I can’t,” I said. “The dawn is chasing our starlight away. But I’ve always loved you. I promise I always will.”
I walked across the brightening meadow as the memory of our shared night faded from his mind. My stars retreating one by one until only Venus remained as the final witness of our fabled desire.
Reaching the forest’s edge, I turned once more before his memory of our night had completely left him. Smiled. And disappeared into the trees.
If you enjoyed this story, consider visiting the author's website.
To get in touch with the author, send them an email.
