Today we have a flash fiction story taken from the short story collection 'Enchanted Dreams'. (The story was originally published on the e-zine site, Antipodean SF in Issue 165, March 2012).
Strange Brew
What the?
I rubbed my eyes, getting my bearings. I was in my bed all right, but a glowing wizard floated at the end of it.
No way!
I rubbed my eyes again. I had to be dreaming. The hobbit-sized wizard had his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth as he concentrated on the clipboard he held. And then it hit me. The smell of stale beer. This wizard was drunk. Not a sentence you expect to mutter to yourself in the middle of the night I tell you, but the man was as drunk as a skunk.
I cleared my throat, deciding to go with the flow of this dream. The wizard looked up and his eyes widened in surprise.
“You're awake.”
I didn't respond.
He looked back down on the clipboard, a finger trailing the page. “Sarah?”
I shook my head.
“Again, I shook my head. He shifted as if he was uncomfortable. And then he let out a loud burp. And I mean loud enough for the bed to vibrate. And yep, his lovely stale beer breath rolled over me.
I couldn't help it; I had to hold my nose. “'oly 'ell!”
The wizard's face turned crimson. “Apologies. I was summoned to work at the last minute. Mangus was called away on a family matter. Now to the matter at hand.”
Again, he concentrated on the clipboard. “Mangus has atrocious handwriting.”
“The fact that you're pissed couldn't have anything to do with it?”
The wizard held his head high. “Of course not.” His dignity was spoiled by the burp that followed.
I tried not to laugh, but seriously, this whole dream was getting way too weird. “Look I don't usually dream so vividly. It's been fun but strange.”
“You think you are in a dream?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Let me see, there's a hobbit-sized drunk wizard floating at the end of my bed. So, hell yeah!”
The wizard gave me a long look. “So you were not expecting us for induction. Curious. What is your name?”
“Lizzie.”
He studied the clipboard, turning the page over, his large fuzzy eyebrows turning into a V shape. He ran a hand through his long beard.
“There is no Lizzie here. But how can this be? This is 501 Flats Road?”
“Actually, it's 501b Flats Road.”
His eyebrows drew up at that. “And who is at 501a?”
“Maddy.”
A look of understanding passed his features. “A mix-up. Sorry to trouble you.” And with a flash of colour, he was gone.
I shook my head to clear this ridiculous dream from my head. In the morning though, I found a clipboard on the floor.
Scrawled on a list in atrocious handwriting was: Madison, 501 Flats Road.
Huh, so there had been a hobbit-sized wizard in my room. What do you know? Maddy was an inductee to his magical world.
I readied for work, putting the bulky rabbit costume in the car. Some people get all the luck.
Enchanted Dreams
Be transported to fantastical worlds in this collection of nineteen speculative fiction shorts of previously published works and new stories. From wizards to magic mirrors, dragons to ghosts, minions to goddesses, space ships to diamond slippers, there's an enchanting tale right for you.
To get a FREE copy, click HERE (for a limited time).
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Eleni Konstantine writes speculative fiction and has had a number of short stories published.
Eleni has a love of chocolate (of course!), fizzy drinks, coffee and relishes her afternoon naps. She lives in South Australia with her family and is human to a sassy Rottweiler.
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