Sheri Yutzy - Speculative Fiction Author

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You are here: Home / All Posts / #FallintoFF / The Making of an Ent

The Making of an Ent

November 1, 2019 by Sheri

“I can see you,” the mask on the wall said.

Lillian convulsed in surprise, sending her full mug of coffee spewing across the coffee table and onto the white carpet.

“No, no, no…” She rushed into the kitchen and opened the towel drawer before she remembered all her kitchen towels were in the laundry, two floors down. She grabbed the paper towels and dashed back to the spilled coffee. One giant wad of paper towels later, she knelt beside the stain, glaring at the mask.

“Did you wait this long to talk on purpose?”

The clay mask vibrated a little and blinked its eyes. Or the holes where the eyes would be. “Of course not. It just takes me a few hours to wake up once someone finds me.”

Lillian didn’t know how she’d missed it. The mask had been hanging in the thrift store for years, and she’d only noticed it this morning when she was organizing the purses.

“So you can’t talk when no one owns you?”

“Someone needs to believe I can. My previous owner died without telling anyone what I was.”

Lillian’s knees cracked as she got up. “Well, are you feeling up to a walk in the woods?”

The carpet was a loss until she could get some stronger cleaner, so she might as well go now.

“What’s in the woods?” The mask narrowed its eye holes.

She grinned. “A body.”

<<<

An hour later, Lillian was deep within Hedgeford Park, the mask tucked into her knapsack. The first snow had just begun to fall, and she couldn’t stop smiling. Finally, the day was here. The woods were empty and silent. She neared the center of the park, and the massive giant oak came into view.

“Hello, Hedgeford!”

A breeze stirred the tree’s leaves.

“I’ve brought something for you. I think you’ll like it.”

She pulled out the mask, and its complaints grew louder.

“You have no idea what you’re doing, little girl!”

She smiled at it. “Oh, you’d be surprised. I’m a professional.” She lifted the mask and pressed it against the tree. The bark began to grow around the edges like glue, and the mask sank into the tree until they became one. Now it was a face with mossy eyebrows and bark lips.

The face squinted. “Hmmm….hrmmm…hoom…” It smiled, showing teeth made of acorns. “I suppose you knew what you were doing after all, little girl.”

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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