He was worn as the hills by eons of weathering. On the roads he gave those he met what they most deserved from his pack. Now he reached inside for the last thing: a draught of dark liquid. He shed his #self easily, discarding his body to soar free in the sunlit sky. #vss365

Deep water was the #realm of the dragons. Guardians and destroyers, they ruled from their palaces on the sea floor. Legends told of great magic pearls that anchored their cities. Only a fool would search for one. But the young man had always been told he was a fool. #vss365

The #Progenitor ruled his descendants with an iron claw, destroying any he considered unfit to represent him. They were a million strong: ready to swarm. As he proudly led them from the nest, his progeny rushed forward, tearing him to ribbons in their urge to destroy. #vss365

The #starscape lay before her in luminous splendor, each twinkling point a marvel. A path unrolled; she stepped on it gingerly. But it bore her weight, taking her toward eternity. She reached out. The facade tore like paper, leaving nothing but a flat, white wall. #vss365

The #vagary of Fate had left the mother destitute. Her husband dead, her children starving, she made a vow. She would save her family at any cost. She bled into the cup; brought it to the little ones. They would fly away with her when she reclaimed her dragon form. #vss365

To the child, each #moment was a splinter, mirror shards with no continuity to the before or after. His parents looked for diagnoses; doctors shrugged their shoulders. The truth was that the spinning, reflective universe was too fascinating for the child to look away. #vss365

Hi folks! It’s time again for my monthly flash piece! What rises from the earth? Find out! $2 gets monthly flash piece, answer to writing questions, $5 gets that and thank you in a novel, look at old writing, etc. patreon.com/posts/june-fla…

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There was not a #scintilla of evidence or real proof. Each find had alternate explanations. The rock art, the symbols: misinterpreted. The sightings: mass hallucination. But the sum was greater than the parts. Aliens had visited earth, and left their tracks behind. #vss365

Asa cut the #heel of the loaf, toasted it over the fire. He had found good shelter in the old stone circle, though many had told him such places were unchancy. Gradually he became aware of watchers: people made of weathered stone settled around the flames. #vss365

The businessman sipped his #masala chai, musing over the quarterly reports. Plastic strangling the oceans. Bad for them, good for him. He blinked his third and fourth eyes. When the ocean was filled, it would be time to start the next stage of alien colonization. #vss365

She wore a #taffeta dress: yellow, her favorite color. A thin gold chain encircled her neck, ending at a stylized rose in the center of her throat. Her abundant hair was spread across the silken pillow, a luxury of curls. Slowly, the girl in the coffin opened her eyes. #vss365

Though ordinary in every other way, the boy was a #savant when it came to his bow. From earliest childhood, he could shoot unerringly, bringing down hares and sparrows as easily as deer. Now, aiming at the palace steps, he waited for the tyrant king to appear. #vss365

The crowd massed to see the heretics executed for #idolatry. They had dared worship statues of the forbidden deity; had performed the banned rites. Then: shocked silence. Thudding footsteps rocked the earth as the cloud-shrouded form of the giant god came over the hill. #vss365

Her father and brother fostered her #innocence. Not for her the councils of war, the furrowed brows and frantic strategies. When the bodies of her father and brother returned from war, she studied the maps, listened to the counselors, and led her people into battle. #vss365

Beyond a natural lifespan, the massive #wisteria tree had thrived for generations. Lovers danced under its blooms; children played in fallen petals. The tree was content. While the village stood, it would protect them with magic stored in every cell of its heartwood. #vss365

It was a #spiritual experience, to ride the sky. To open oneself to the wind; to dance on the wild currents of the tempest. He drank in the air; gloried in the air's freedom. Eventually, he would fall: he knew that. And yet, every profligate moment was worth a lifetime. #vss365

He heard the dome #tear sometime during the night, an impossible shriek of stone. He immediately knew he had lost his gamble. Still in his bedclothes, he made for the door. Too late. The roc swooped him up along with its egg, carrying him away over the city. #vss365