Sheri Yutzy - Speculative Fiction Author

  • About
  • Stories
  • Contact
  • Magic Forest Proofreading
You are here: Home / All Posts / WHAT LIES BENEATH – #flashfictionmagic

WHAT LIES BENEATH – #flashfictionmagic

January 25, 2023 by Sheri

WHAT LIES BENEATH – #flashfictionmagic

It was one of those houses that looks…stiff. New and expensive, like no one lived or loved in it yet.
Margery wondered what the owners—who never seemed to be there—would think if she knocked on the door and offered to ruffle their house up a a bit. It was ridiculous, of course, but every morning she looked to see if anything had changed. Had the blinds been opened, or at least left a teensy bit crooked?
Had a gangly weed sprouted between the hard nosed boxwoods?
A year ago the For Sale sign had disappeared and she’d spotted a sleek silver car pulling into the garage. After that, the silver car came and went sporadically. Gardeners came and tended the boxwoods. The house kept its eyes closed.
It drove Margery crazier every day. She watched the door obsessively. Surely a cleaning lady would come and Margery could ask her a few neighborly questions? She hadn’t seen the silver car glide down the street in days.
Then it happened.
A single weed erupted right by the front porch step. It seemed to grow overnight, encouraged by early spring rains, until it towered as tall as the porch furniture.
Mesmerized, Margery wafted across the street in the chill, misty afternoon. Everything was tight shut as always, the garage, the windows. She gathered her grit and rang the doorbell. Nothing.
She moved to the back fence, the eerie fog prickling through her sweater arms. Stretching to her tiptoes, she meant to take a short peek and then dash back across the street. But she found herself surveying the shallow, muddy backyard, her gaze drawn to the thick woods bordering it.
Her fingers convulsed on the wood and a soundless scream shook her throat. A body lay at the edge of the trees, its skin drained white and its eyes staring dead at her.

#spookystory #flashfiction #whatliesbeneath #murderstory #sheriyutzy #amwritingflashfiction #flashfictionfriday #freestory #yafantasyauthor #amwritingfiction

Filed Under: All Posts

Want free stories, discounts, and other forest magic?Join my newsletter!

I like sending free stories to my friends.
Join the list and get a free ebook copy of Stories of the Stars, my speculative short story collection!

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've been to 17 countries, and once spent the night in a hotel lobby in Florence, Italy, because the entire city was fully booked for a festival.
I'm married to a musician who looks good in black, mama to three curious kids, and happy resident of a Cape Cod cottage in Ohio.
I write YA fantasy and am acquisitions editor at sparkflashfiction.com.
Join my email list for free fiction!

Follow Along

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Find some magic with me!

sheriyutzyauthor

Thinking back on the beautiful white daffodils of Thinking back on the beautiful white daffodils of early spring…
The colors of the earth deepen and grow more vibrant as time goes on, until they rest again beneath the stark white and black of winter.

What’s your favorite season? I really can’t choose.🌿

#springdaffodils #changingseasons #slowliving #slowingdown #cottagegardens #intentionallifestyle #homemakerlife #sheriyutzy #moodycottage #slowlifestyle #ordinarymagic #everydaymagic
🌿 I’ve been told many times To be afraid for 🌿
I’ve been told many times
To be afraid for my children
That I will regret not holding them tighter.
It’s as if fear is a currency, and if I don’t have enough, I haven’t earned motherhood.
I will never accept this,
for Jesus has taken my fear.
He is enough.
🌿

“Fear not.”
-Jesus.
I spent the evening following these two along the river bank, finding all the ant hills and burrows and mushrooms. No wonder Jesus cares for these, I thought. They are the best at finding all the magical good in the world.

#fearnot #courageousparenting #saynotofear #sheriyutzy #intentionalmotherhood #intentionalliving #slowliving #fearlessliving #fearlessparenting #kidsoutside #riverbank #twentywordtuesday #shortpoem #poetsofinstagram
☀️I brought this series with me to Arkansas. I ☀️I brought this series with me to Arkansas. It seemed an appropriate way to remember Lani, a friend who shone like the sun even while facing death.
It was around this time of year in Arkansas that I first heard about her stage IV diagnosis of a rare cancer, and I had just started reading her first book. Sometimes I hesitate to read my friends’ books because I so much to love them it stresses me out. 😅 But when I started The Seventh Sun, I forgot I knew who wrote it, and lost myself in the story. Now I’m rereading it, and still struggling to slow down and not gobble it all up.
☀️I haven’t read The Obsidian Butterfly yet, and I’m so excited to see how this story continues.

☀️What a beautiful thing books are, that we can write them and read them and remember each other through words. I think Lani is watching us love her stories, and one day I hope to have a long talk with her about them.

☀️Is there an author who has passed on that you want to talk to about their books?

@laniforbes #laniforbes #rememberinglaniforbes #theseventhsun #thejadebones #theobsidianbutterfly #azteclegends #mayanaandahkin #yafantasybooks #yafantasyauthors #yafantasyseries #mayanlegend #mayanpeople #mayanstories #sheriyutzy
Your needs are sometimes endless Unfathomable Like Your needs are sometimes endless
Unfathomable
Like endless tangled currents that never let you go.

Your needs are vital; they are your language
But sometimes they are too tight around your body.
So tight you cannot lift your arms to find your true needs beneath the false ones.

It can feel impossible to find peace, contentment, when you are swept along by so much need.

You need your needs,
But sometimes, many times, it is best to let them go. You are safe without them. The true needs will always come back, and you will recognize them. You are still a person, in this world of self care, even if you release your needs and let yourself just be.

#intentionally #lettinggo #sheriyutzy #releasingneeds #slowliving #beaverlake #watchingtheriver #watchingtheriverflow #greenwater #selfcare #findinginnerpeace #findinginnerstrength #findinginnerharmony #writingcommunity
Load More... Follow on Instagram

My Book Progress

Spiraldown
Phase:Writing
31.8%
MyBookProgress by Author Media

Goodreads

Let’s keep in touch!

You'll be the first to know about new discounts, free stories just for subscribers, and beta reader openings. Feel free to sign up!

© 2023 Sheri Yutzy | Site by EY-PHOTO-WEB

 

Loading Comments...