The beam of the lighthouse blares down upon the rocks. It warns sailors away, yes, but it also illuminates the sullen outcrop where you and I dance, a nightly ritual to ward off the angry spirits of those shipwrecked in the dark years before the lighthouse was built. We two are merely the latest. Dancers… Read more Missteps

What a commotion outside! The crows were screaming a warning of approaching danger. Merlin moved to the door. Now he could hear footsteps of one person wearing boots. As the figure came into view, Merlin raised his eyebrows. No wonder the birds were alarmed – they had never seen anyone dressed like this fellow! His… Read more Merlin Has a Cold

The girl who held the razor was no more than eleven. She wore a bright red robe with a hood that kept her hidden except for her prepubescent face and her hands. She was very careful and precise in the way she shaved the old man’s head and his wrinkled, lined face. She applied the… Read more Dragon in a Box

A long time ago the capital of Japan was Kyoto, the city of blossoms. The Mikado and his court lived in Kyoto, a place of beautiful shrines and temples. But the capital was troubled with many thieves and murderers who snuck through the city gates at night. Even worse were the evil imps, called onis,… Read more Raikou and the Shi-Ten Doji

There used to be three of us once: the winged, snake-headed Gorgon sisters. And then Perseus killed Medusa, the only mortal one, for the trifling purpose of rescuing an Ethiopian princess named Andromeda. In doing so, he used our dear sister’s severed head to turn a sea monster into stone. I might add that Cetus… Read more Revenge of the Gorgons

The smoke from the fire drifted through the air and hazed across the full moon, painting it a delicate eggshell blue.  Flames curled and wove around each other as they reached for the sky, throwing sparks into the night air, their short lives bright and quick as they tried to escape before fading away.  Fingers… Read more Passing On

I woke up to the chink chink of porcelain molars and pearly incisors clicking against each other. I squeezed my eyes tight because I knew the fairy might be frightened if she caught me watching her. The warmth of her light moved across my room. She floated to my bedside and I felt her slide… Read more Bedtime Story

The crisp, dried petals of flame of forest collided drily, making it sound as though they were whispering secrets to each other, as they rained into the mortar, filling its deep hollow to the brim. The pestle was raised to push and pack the petals in, then to crush them, the shrill clunks of wood… Read more Flames for New Beginnings, Lilacs for First Love

Having traveled to Memphis to consult its priests, Herodotus concluded that the beautiful Helen had actually spent the Trojan War in Egypt. Likewise, several of the historian’s contemporaries argued that Odysseus fell at Troy and that his famous wanderings were nothing more than the visions of a dying man. As they acknowledge, Odysseus won the… Read more The Long Death of Odysseus

The kind wizard Benne presided over a quiet, forested hamlet deep within the vast province of Usam. It was a land where lush emerald hills rolled like waves under an expansive purple sky and glittering leaves shined from trees that reached as high as the clouds. The three-eyed gnomes, owl-nymphs, and round-eared trolls residing there… Read more The Winner