some bookish musings
Nov. 18th, 2022 02:18 amBecause of an increase in taxes and the lack of availability of new books in their original language, I've been scouting used book libraries getting old, yet well-loved books for really, really cheap. This is how I got my hands on a Dead by Dusk copy, which I've been enjoying quite a lot. Certainly more than I expected. There are lost of stories by diverse authors that I'd love to read next year, but right now I'd also like to focus on what's available locally.
The lack of stress related to not being able to keep up with trends, that pesky FOMO that oozes from most feeds, wasn't doing me any good either. So yeah, I'm happy, and I'd like to think that's what truly matters.
(still, i'd die happy if i could get my hands on a gideon the ninth copy)
Content warnings: body horror, aesthetic cannibalism (characters consume food resembling human parts).
I've been living in the Mistlands for a little over two weeks in a quaint little town that only appears in some maps. The locals call it Apple Hill because the land used to be full of apple trees, and it still is. The thing is that the trees now produce something… Different.
I have no idea what to post in Dreamwidth so I'm starting with one of my short stories. This is a Fiverr commission posted with permission from the client as per our agreement. Written by me, as requested.
Shadows danced on the walls at the rhythm that the wind imposed in the only candle in the room. The only furniture besides a small wooden table on which the candle burned were a couple of uneven chairs and a sad excuse for a bed without sheets. It was a cavernous place at the top of a long forgotten tower at the edge of the woods, where patrols no longer went to. No one did, not since the last battle of a war that hadn't ended but wasn't continuing either.
The whole territory was considered no man's land. She was no man.
Clarissa sat at the edge of the rectangular window, her nails softly scrapping the stone it was made of. The whole tower was, and it made the night much colder than it actually was. With her other hand, she tightened the cloak around her shoulders to keep warm. She was temped to throw one leg out and swing it, feel nothing but the air beneath her boot, maybe the vertigo too. From her vantage point, the forest turned into a sea of green, darkened by the lack of sunlight yet still illuminated enough by the crescent Moon.
A cloud passed by, bringing a dark patch of shadow with it. Clarissa sighed and pushed herself away from the window, making her way to the solitary candle. She'd been a fool to come here.
The crack of an arrow nailing itself to the outer wall of the tower surprised Clarissa. She knelt down instinctively and then cursed, she'd forgotten to blow the fire. She waited, counting the seconds, and when nothing happened, the young woman dared to crawl to the wall once more, her fingers starting to cradle the edge of the window. From it, she saw the silhouette of a rope hanging from the arrow followed by the unmistakable sounds of footsteps and grunts. Someone was climbing.
( Read more... )