Cara H

“A Journey to the Dreamlands” by Cara H

The Adventures of Robin Roberts and Little John Tamboli: A Journey to the Dreamlands Genuine discourse “Are you comin’ tonight?” A burly ghoul wearing a faded green and brown checked newsboy cap, a tattered gray cable-knit sweater over a threadbare collared shirt, and ragged brown trousers sat on a filthy futon in a cavern crafted by ghoulish hands beneath London’s Royal Horseguards Hotel. He had a map and a musty old tome before him, which he was studying by the light of a dim lantern. A Victrola sat in the corner, playing “Nearer My God to...

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“The Trials of Zkauba: Diligent and Disastrous” by Cara H

Submitted to Contest #103

The Trials of Zkauba: Diligent and Disastrous Can’t Get You Out of My Head 5 December 1932 The Yaddithian wizard Zkauba was beyond tired of sharing his headspace with the Earthman Randolph Carter. The rogue had hijacked his mind back on Yaddith, eons before Earth even existed. Carter caused the downfall of Zkauba’s homeworld, for his presence interfered with the wizard’s abilities in casting spells to keep the Bholes at bay. Zkauba had been wrestling with the invader for control over his own psyche for countless millennia. Carter gained the...

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“Days of Innocence: The Shadow World” by Cara H

Submitted to Contest #102

The Shadow World Particle Board Planters and Subterranean Snails “Papa, do you remember the time during my 300th year when you were called away and had to leave me with Aunt Suki the Shadow Sorceress?” the crone inquired, looking up from the journal in which she was writing. “I do indeed, my dear,” the venerable lady’s youthful-looking father replied, pushing his long, black hair over his shoulder, and reaching for his tea. “It was necessary for me to keep the reasons for my absence a secret even from you. I had to push thoughts of you to ...

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“Reflections Of” by Cara H

Submitted to Contest #101

Reflections Of I am the monster of every story. I am an overgrown and unappealing flower with fading petals. The knot of tears around my throat has crystallized into my design, creating a hard lump in the notch of my collarbone. In my youth, the contour was visible, and predatory men longed to sink their teeth into it. I wish that I could at least exchange youthful beauty for the wisdom of age, but although my face is wizened, I am not wise. I have always been a dowdy mutant with the vague shape of a woman. Never was I a pale and delicate ar...

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“In the Days of Innocence: A Special 200th Arrival Anniversary” by Cara H

A Special 200th Arrival Anniversary Wizard Dueling Dilemmas and Warty Wishes The Cosmic Trickster Nyarlathotep looked out the window of his cozy cottage as it floated through the Universe past worlds, stars, and galaxies. The Outer God glanced down at his daughter Yadira, who lay sleeping on her play mat covered by a whimsical patchwork quilt that they had created together. Nyarlathotep gave a discouraged sigh. An immortal was far from immune from ennui, especially when he had lost his true love in the massive attack that had obliterated Za...

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“Pepper Remembers: The Sad Café” by Cara H

The Sad Café Anonymous and Articulate June 12, 1988 The café began to feel like Pepper’s only real home. It was a place where she could be anonymous and articulate, letting her stories meander from her mind into the notebook that her theatre geek friend Parker had given her when she told him that she wouldn’t be returning to KU in the fall because she was pregnant. Parker had designed the notebook cover himself. It was a light grape shimmer honoring Pepper’s love for purple. There was a flourish of light blue lace around the border and a li...

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“Toys in the Attic: Come to my Window” by Cara H

Submitted to Contest #97

Come to my Window The Letter When Sabella arrived at her new home on the evening of July 10, 2020, she was surprised to find a package on her porch. She supposed that it must have been delivered to the wrong house, but it was addressed to Miss Sabella Laaksonen. She recognized the blocky script, and there were hearts with tendrils branching off them drawn at each corner of the recipient’s address. The tendrils entwined with one another. Sabella took the package into the house, set it on the coffee table, and opened it with trembling hands. S...

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“From the Beginning: The Two Doors” by Cara H

Submitted to Contest #95

The Two Doors A Perfectly Brewed Cup of Tea “A perfectly brewed cup of tea can’t fix everything.” The trickster god Nyarlathotep’s manner was subdued as he handed his daughter tea in a pretty cup decorated in swirls of silver with orange flowers and brown leaves. “But for a few wonderful moments, it feels as if it can,” the girl postulated. Yadira looked like the same innocent girl just approaching womanhood that Nyarlathotep had known a day ago. Her smile was sweet, her black-coffee hair flowed in the same wild, thick mass of waves. She had...

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“The Tragic Last Days of Zetar: When Everything Goes Wrong” by Cara H

When Everything Goes Wrong Just Another Day “In the name of Vulxoix, Qweh, what have you done?” The color drained from Princess Ondina’s face as she entered her laboratory to find all thirteen members of her core staff lying on gurneys, each with horrific injuries inflicted upon them. Ondina’s half-brother King Qweh guffawed at his sister’s revulsion. Although Qweh dwarfed her by more than half a meter and outweighed her by more than 100 kilograms, much of his weight being powerful muscle, Ondina whirled on her brother, kicking him as hard ...

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“The Last Days of Zecor: The Party” by Cara H

Submitted to Contest #93

The Party Small Voices and Grownup Glimpses The limp body of a girl in early adolescence lay supported against the massive roots of a Terqrix tree in the Okruiks Botanical Garden behind the grand palace of Os’aen, home to West Zecor’s ruling family. Her form-fitting red dress and heavy makeup made her appear older than her true age. The glamorous red pumps that matched her dress had been kicked off as she ran. The girl’s hair partially covered her distressed face. Spectral hands reached from the ground and gently caressed her shoulders, arms...

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“The Cliffords of Crouch End: Philip's Little Library” by Cara H

Philip’s Little Library Juicy Jokes and Buttered Books For some children, having a birthday proximal to Christmas is a curse. For members of the Clifford family, it meant double the celebration. Even though Leo and Mildred Clifford were folk of modest means, they always made sure that each of their many children, both adopted and biological, received special acknowledgment on their birthday. Nancy, the eldest of the lot, had been born on December 12, 1931. She shared a birthday with her two youngest brothers. Gerry was born on December 12, 1...

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“From the Beginning: The World Tree” by Cara H

The World Tree The Sorcerer’s Staff and the Wise Child As the Tenas Transport began its journey from the Bay of Nerrocen to the Gardens of Peka, Cari Jorah noticed the man sitting across the aisle from her. It would have been hard not to notice his rust-red robe, but the eye-catching garment was not, in fact, what grabbed her attention. The man was comely in an unconventional way. He was tall and slender with an angular face. His eyes were a striking shade of blue reminiscent of the tail of Pegranu’s Comet. His hair was dark blue, tumbling ...

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“A Leap of Folly” by Cara H

Submitted to Contest #89

CW: mental health A Leap of Folly I I always loved writing, and, for the most part, got high marks for the little stories that I wrote in school. Teachers encouraged me to become a writer, and my paternal grandmother, who had once worked with such artists as Eydie Gormé and Steve Lawrence, thought that I should concentrate on my piano playing, but I wanted to be an actress. I was ugly and unpopular. Actresses, I reasoned, were beautiful, and if I were an actress, people would love me. Then I could thumb my nose at all the people who treated ...

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“Jana” by Cara H

Jana Although Jana Evans was shy and plain, she managed to stand out. When her schoolmates ridiculed her unusual voice or her colorful clothes or called her weird and ugly and crazy, the outcast high school freshman flew off in her mind to the Crystal Cave where the Fae King and Queen and Princess lay sleeping in transparent pods. “This world isn’t real,” Jana reminded herself. “I’m asleep in my cocoon, and one day I’ll awaken on my Freedom Morning in my enchanted world where I am uniquely exquisite and dearly loved.” “Jana the Space Cadet,...

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“Mine Be” by Cara H

Submitted to Contest #86

Mine Be Mystic Gallery “Let us have a little fun with this place, Yadira,” Nyarlathotep suggested to his daughter, spinning in a rapid pirouette, and trading his sharp royal blue ensemble for a zoot suit composed of wild patches of colors and patterns seamlessly woven together. “The good Princess Ondina wished for this gallery to be a place where visitors could leave their cares behind. As you have observed, each of these paintings is the gateway to a wonderful world, but none of these worlds is our world. Let us create a gateway to our very...

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