Firegazer by Rebecca Cantrell

Author:Rebecca Cantrell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: horror, halloween, short stories
Publisher: Rebecca Cantrell
Published: 2023-09-18T00:00:00+00:00

Sparks Black as Night

The smell of mushrooms filled Jay’s nose and he tasted chocolate on his tongue. His uncle grabbed his shoulder. “What did you see?”

Again he told him. This time his uncle interrupted. “A spaceship?”

“And two children and a mushroom farm and they killed—”

“Stop!” said a loud voice from the doorway.

His mother stood there, dressed like a witch with a long pointed hat and a black dress that glittered like stars. Her eyes were wet and angry and he didn’t know whether to hug her or run away.

“He cannot see your death.” His mother held out one elegant arm and he ran to her and buried his face in her skirts, something he hadn’t done in years. “You know this.”

“If I see it coming—” Her uncle rose from the chair and then his father was in the room and he punched him hard in the face.

The whisky glass fell to the floor and broke. The fading fire flashed as it consumed the alcohol. His uncle pushed himself off the mantelpiece.

“If you come back,” his mother said. “I know exactly how you’ll die.”

She came into the room then and Jay came with her. She dropped her hat over the top of the lantern and he was relieved and disappointed to see the glass hidden away. Black sparks danced under the hat.

His father dragged his uncle out of the room and faraway the front door slammed. His mother held him in her lap. She smelled of perfume and old leaves and pepper.

“You were too young to see that,” she said. “I thought the lantern had been destroyed when we were children.”

He looked at it. It glowed under her hat. “Was it true?”

His father was in the room then and gave him a cup of warm milk with honey and cinnamon.

“Remember the triumph,” he said.

Jay took a long sip and remembered the sparks.

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