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You are here: Home / All Posts / #FallintoFF / The Apple Magic – #FallintoFF

The Apple Magic – #FallintoFF

November 4, 2019 by Sheri

“It needs to be thicker, like honey,” Aunt Kira said.

Liza blew her damp hair out of her eyes. “How would you know?”

Aunt Kira’s chin dropped toward the kettle of bubbling apple brew and Liza felt a stab in her heart. “I’m sorry, Aunt. I just…I’ve been trying to get this right for weeks. What if I can’t match Father’s and the King destroys our contract?”

Aunt Kira put her hands on Liza’s where they hovered in the steam above the copper kettle. “You carry the apple magic in your blood, Liza. Even your doubt can’t change that.”

“I wish he was here to teach me.” She glanced across the cottage at Mother’s still form on the bed by the fire. “What will we do if—”

“Hush.” Aunt Kira pulled her hands away. “I think you need to walk in the orchard again.”

“But the cider is due tomorrow!”

“All the more reason to speak with the apples. Perhaps you missed something.”

Liza stepped back and the brew calmed. “All right. I’ll try one more time.”

<<<

The crisp air beneath the trees cooled the sweat on her forehead. If she didn’t figure this out soon, the King would choose another Cider Maker tomorrow. They would lose the farm, and Mother would never see a real doctor.

“That is not an option,” Liza said through her teeth. “I will match Father’s cider.”

Her own words echoed in her head, entwined with something Mother often said before she fell ill. “You must be your own human, Liza. The magic in your blood is a responsibility, but only you can use it properly.

All these weeks, she’d been trying to make a cider just like Father’s. Was that why the cider wouldn’t cooperate? She needed her own brew, or the magic backfired.

Hope flooded in like a mug of something warm. She was at the end of the orchard, and she was out of breath by the time she reached the cottage again.

“I knew it.” Aunt Kira smiled as Liza burst through the door.

Liza waited until her lungs stopped aching to raise her hands over the kettle again. The brew leaped up and bubbled, as if sensing the change in her. She closed her eyes and let her hands move as they would. She felt sticky vapor coating her fingers as the cider thickened, and then thinned, and finally filled with air.

“Bubbles!” Aunt Kira laughed.

<<<

Dressed in her best burgundy gown, Liza concentrated on holding her hands steady so the cider tray wouldn’t shake. The King’s mug of cider sat in the center with a snowy napkin beside it. The cider sparkled constantly, even more so when Liza stepped near.

She’d felt so sure yesterday, this was her brew, her own kind of magic. But would the King even want something so different from previous years. Father’s brew had been sweet and heavy, like honey. The King mixed it with cream. This brew was more like punch, and filled one with a desire to laugh. Aunt Kira had giggled all night from her zealous sampling.

“The Cider Maker, Sire,” the footman announced to the King.

“Bring him in.”

“Ah, I’m afraid it’s his daughter, Sire. The Cider Maker passed on last year, remember?”

“Oh, yes. Of course. Bring her in, then.”

Liza managed to walk straight. She approached the King as she had been instructed and bowed low. “Your cider, Sire.”

“You may look at me, Miss…”

“Liza, Sire.” She peeked up at him. His dark eyes looked kind, but tired.

“I am ready for the most delicious cider in the kingdom, Miss Liza.” He gestured her to come forward. She set the tray on the side table and carried the mug and napkin to him. She felt cold and empty inside, and was grateful for the feeling. Otherwise she’d have dropped everything and run.

An hour seemed to pass as the King lifted the mug and drank. He squinted, thoughtful. Liza held her breath. The King took another long swallow and smacked his lips. He grinned, and then his chest shook with a chuckle. Liza let out her air as he drained the mug and held it up.

“Miss Liza, I have never tasted such delicious cider in my life. Bubbles! In cider!” He laughed. “Bring me more!” He roared.

 

 

Like this Fallish story? Follow #FallintoFF on instagram for more to come. Check out Laura L Zimmerman’s version at https://lauralzimmerman.wordpress.com/

Filed Under: #FallintoFF

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About Sheri

Here Goes Something New!

Hi, I'm Sheri Yutzy. I love forests under the night sky, trying new foods, and drinking Irish tea.
I'm married to a musician who looks good in black, mama to two toddlers who love to eat, and happy resident of a Cape Cod cottage in Ohio.
I write YA fantasy and am acquisitions editor at sparkflashfiction.com.
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One thing I love about Ohio yards: no matter where One thing I love about Ohio yards: no matter where I go, I can always find a little patch of whimsical greenery somewhere that whispers spring is here. My yard right now is strewn with little branches and dried plants from the flowerbeds and old, brown leaves. But soon the grass will grow tall and we’ll gather the branches and everything will be lush and green again.
Fairy tales always seem like a spring thing. The curses end in spring, the eggs hatch in spring, the weddings happen in spring. But I love to see the magic woven into each season, each so different, preparing the earth for the next phase.

What whimsically green corners have you found this week?

#whimsicalwednesday #sheriyutzy #whimsicalgreen #whimsicalcottage #whimsicalspring #whimsicalgarden #yafantasyauthor #hanschristianandersen #bestlovedfairytales #fairytales #springfairytale #magicalspring #magicalcottage #booksoutside #slowliving #changingseasons #marchgreens
🌿✨🌿 Enough words in the world Enough bulbs 🌿✨🌿
Enough words in the world
Enough bulbs budding 
And stretching their hearty arms
Like solid poems, fragrant poems
The world outside is living poetry.
🌿✨🌿

#twentywordtuesday #poetsofinstagram #springpoetry #ednastvincentmillay #springinthegarden #poetryoutside #moodycottage #sheriyutzy #shortpoems
Mondays do odd things for me as an introvert. (By Mondays do odd things for me as an introvert. (By introvert I mean I need solitude to recharge.) 
🌿🌿🌿
Here’s what I mean. By the end of every week I’m ready to see my people, engage in my church community. And by the end of Sunday? I’m ready to be alone again. My kids usually are too, so they spend Monday playing pretend together and I lurk around catching up on housework, reading a book, and gazing out the window, enjoying my own inner silence. (It’s not super silent outside of me, but that’s okay.)
Monday is just lovely, because I’m filled up and rich with community, and I have a whole day to be home and ponder that fullness.
Yes, sometimes I want to be with adults after hearing children chatter all day, but most of the time their conversation is refreshing.

How do you find Mondays? Do you like to get started on the week, or would you like to stay in the weekend?
The wisteria is budding, and will soon be spreadin The wisteria is budding, and will soon be spreading its sunshine across the yard. Our bush was here when we moved and I’ve been so grateful for it. It blooms so early, the brightest thing around.
This weekend was a bit crazy. I did some new things, like make meatballs for a crowd, and juggle three Airbnb guests’ requests at once, and change a car key battery while away from home (thank God for the extra battery in the glove box) but here I am at Sunday afternoon, my time to take a look at the week before, and everything worked out.
I know it doesn’t always, but for today, I am grateful.

What made you grateful this weekend?

#wisteria #buddingwisteria #sheriyutzy #gratefulsunday #kingdomofashandbriars #hannahwest #yafantasyauthor #booksoutside #slowliving #gratefulliving #moodycottage #cottagegarden #intentionalliving #gratefulthoughts #springtimeblooms #timeforspring
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