Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

“Family” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

December 22nd (Friday):Pancakes:Batter sizzles on the griddle. The smell spreads through the house, and I carefully flip each pancake onto the other side, smiling when I see the perfectly browned outside.I repeat the little rhyme my mom taught me:"Mix a pancakeStir a pancakePop it in the panFry the pancakeToss the pancake-Catch it if you can!"The words bring back memories that steal into my mind and creep into my heart, making me feel warm and fuzzy and nostalgic and sad. A ghost slips into the kitchen, made of memories and smiles and hope. ...

4 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Coralie” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

Submitted to Contest #20

Baby:The house is empty and quiet. I sit at the coffee table, sipping a cup of too sweet coffee, savoring the quiet and the peace, which is so uncommon. My husband, Leo, is shopping for groceries, and the sun has just begun to set, painting the room golden with its last rays.Coralie, the baby, is napping in her room. I smile, thinking about her. She's the best thing that ever happened to me, and yet also so exhausting. Her bright, hazel eyes are nearly always full of tears, and her mouth is always chewing something it isn't supposed to.Even ...

5 likes 2 comments 2

Read story

“It's going to be okay.” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

Casey skips along the sidewalk, her jumprope slung over one shoulder, her feet a blur as she dodges the cracks in the pavement ("step on a crack, break your mother's back) and leaps over the lines. Once she gets to the corner, she looks both ways and crosses the streets. She's not supposed to go past the corner without her parents, but she's been here so many times before that she figures it's probably fine. Plus, she left a note, scribbled in her messy handwriting, explaining where she was going. There would be no reason for them to worry.S...

4 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Promise” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

Submitted to Contest #20

Wind whips my hair into my face as I drive, my eyes wide and my mouth open in a constant shout of elation.I'm going too fast - I know I am, but it's a mostly empty road, and apart from a few people mowing their lawns, there's no one to see me. And it's not like I'm going to crash - I was told I passed my driving test with flying colors.I narrowly avoid crashing into a mailbox, swerve around a corner, and finally screech to a halt near my best friend's house. In the sudden silence, I get out of the car.Without the sound of tires squealing and...

6 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Opposites” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

Submitted to Contest #16

He sits by his mother, watching shadows flicker on the floor, forming patterns because of the clouds and the starlight. It's snowing outside, it always is, and it's cold.He peers out the window. The moon is dark, but the stars aren't, and he marvels at their brightness, their beauty. He knows that they could form constellations, tell stories, but to him, they are just a handful of glitter scattered across the sky.Even so, he can feel their meaning and he watches them glimmer in wonder.he turns to his mother."Tell me the story of why it's alw...

7 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Trees” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

Submitted to Contest #16

The woods were dangerous, or so they told the villagers huddling in their thin blankets, praying to the gods that did not listen.They surrounded the southern border of the kingdom, thick and dark and full of things the villagers didn’t speak of. To say something’s name was to call it, and the villagers had enough trouble already.The trees ended just outside the village, but a few remained, gnarled and knotted and twisted and bent, missing the darkness from which they came. The houses were weak and small, made of brush and sticks and prayers....

5 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Grow” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

Submitted to Contest #15

The afternoon sunlight shines down on my back and neck as I carefully place the plant into the hole I've dug for it. I arrange it so that its roots have plenty of room to breathe, patting down the dirt around it ever so gently.I wipe the sweat off my brow, checking my watch. My friends are due to be here any minute, so I quickly water the plant, then put the gardening equipment away, hurrying into my house to change into something more suitable.By the time they get here, I'm mostly clean. I've managed to get most of the dirt out from under m...

9 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Breaking Free” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

Submitted to Contest #14

Once upon a time, there was a girl sweet as sugar and as beautiful as a blossoming flower.Just kidding. I'm a girl raised on heat and dust and bitter coffee grounds, of cloudy skies and starless nights, of the sun burning down on my back and frost biting my skin. I am made of blood and sweat and hard work.My eyes lost the brightness and wonder of childhood once my parents taught me that work was the only thing that would do me any good, my mouth stopped asking questions once I realized there were no answers in life, only working and living a...

7 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Unseen” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

Submitted to Contest #13

It's raining as I walk. My hands are full of overfilled grocery bags and I'm precariously balancing an umbrella above me. I listen to the sound of the rain pattering on top of it.All around me, people are rushing past, their eyes glued to the sidewalk or their phones. My phone is shoved at the bottom of one of the grocery bags, so I can't look at it. I feel it buzzing from time to time.He's standing directly in my path. I don't notice him until it's too late, and as I try to swerve out of his way, I only succeed in swinging my bags at him, t...

7 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Fear” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

Submitted to Contest #13

You could call me superstitious, but you’d only be half right. Certainly I believe that broken mirrors and umbrellas indoors and crossing under ladders and black cats causes bad luck, just like four leaf clovers and burning incense and rabbit’s feet causes good luck. And yet, it isn’t the actual thing that causes it. It’s the symbolism of it. So yes, I’m superstitious, but for good reason. ~ Fear is a powerful fuel. Fear of death keeps us constantly building a legacy so we can survive in people’s memories. Fear of pain keeps us from tak...

8 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Sidekick” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

Submitted to Contest #12

She stands slightly behind me, like always. That’s her job, to wait behind me and warn me of incoming danger so I can save everyone like always, solve the crime like always. Maybe she’ll get involved in the investigation. Probably not. It’s not safe for sidekicks to get involved. I survey the crime scene, looking at the broken glass, the blood, and the open window too high up to reach. I look around for some other way for whoever it was to get out, but see nothing. “Maybe,” she says. I look up, surprised. Her voice is hesitant and soft. “May...

9 likes 1 comment 1

Read story

“Test Tubes” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

Submitted to Contest #8

My eyes open, and all at once, I'm awake. I blink a few times. The LED bulbs are bright, but the vast darkness outside seems to suck in the light and not give any of it back. I stand up, going to sit by the window. Outside is blackness and a scattering of stars. Far off, I can see the cold blue of Earth. Home. The words wake a distant memory in my head - hugs and snow and evenings by the fire. A woman whispering goodnight before kissing me on the forehead lightly and closing the door. But all that is gone now, and there's no use dwelling on ...

9 likes 1 comment 1

Read story

“By the Sea” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #4

I sit by the sea, watching the waves crash down on the shore. The sickening smell of rotting fish and dried salt envelops me every time I step outside, so I try to stay in the house as much as I can. The sun burns down on the shore, and seabirds scurry around on it in dizzying patterns. Everything about this situation I’m in is so wrong. Especially when I remember where I came from, recalling the freedom I felt, looking down at everything from the top of the world. I hate the sea. Hate the memories it brings back, hate the smells, the sandy ...

12 likes 0 comments 0

Read story