Sierra Tkacik

“The Precious Dirt Around Us (and the Trees Far Away)” by Sierra Tkacik

“I found a diamond!” The young woman beside me cheers and lifts the jagged rock high. She’s soon surrounded by others as young as her, all marveling over the precious gem.  I snort and turn to Gavin, who has the same expression as I do. We share a fond shake of the head as we continue along, not paying any attention to the growing crowd of volunteers. Gavin has been working beside me for forty-some years, and we know not to bother with the young volunteers sent from the home colonies. They’ll stay for their mandatory few months and go b...

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“The Squirrel” by Sierra Tkacik

Submitted to Contest #86

The king was not kind to his advisors. He was never visibly kind at all. Visiting royals would report that he showed no courtesy to them whatsoever, but that was a lie. King Taylor ensured that any visitors would have whatever they desired when within the walls of his kingdom. He just didn’t prefer to make conversation, aside from negotiations. The servants disagreed, saying that the king was plenty talkative when about topics he was interested in. New stable boys had been lectured on horses and breeds for hours before the king allowed the...

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“The Flowered Warrior” by Sierra Tkacik

Submitted to Contest #86

She smells like lilies today. He noted, leaning against the window sill, mask dipping down his nose ever so slightly. Rian couldn’t help but lose himself in the domesticity of seeing Norma hum and dance around her little home, cradling little succulents and ferns and moving them from shelf to shelf, all the while checking on a… something she had in the oven. “And all birds and plants will sing…”“I’ve never seen a lady as pretty as she.” He finished, alerting her to his presence. “Well, hello, stranger. We meet again.” She wasn’t su...

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“The Toils of a Scribe” by Sierra Tkacik

Submitted to Contest #85

“Welcome, students, to the castle of Laceit!” The teacher beams at them and holds her arms out, trying to add more pizazz to the grand building that lies before them. Moss and vines crawl up its exterior, giving Eleanor the sense that the structure was natural, when in fact, it was anything but.  A tour guide swathed in velvet crosses the massive drawbridge to join them. “Hello, citizens!” He intones. “I am Lord Fredrick, and I will be your guide to the hallowed halls of the Laceit reign. Historically, it was written, Laceit castle had ...

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“Teeth” by Sierra Tkacik

Submitted to Contest #84

“This won’t last forever,” they would say, like one day we would just wake up and find that our masks are no longer needed, that we can finally visit our grandparents and hug them goodbye, “this is temporary.”  So many things are temporary. The Roman Empire; Pangea; the dinosaurs. That doesn’t make them any less significant or any shorter. Generations lived and died in tragedies just like this one, but, of course, no one ever believes it will happen to their generation; to them. And when they’re proven wrong, they never think it will l...

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“White Circles on Dark Stone” by Sierra Tkacik

Submitted to Contest #83

I suck in a deep breath as I dig my talons into the dark stone of my choir. The gills at my neck wiggle, trying to gain as much oxygen from the waves as I can before I am forced to use my mouth and nose for breathing. I’ve never done it before, and a part of me worries that I won’t know how.  Pearl-digger clicks beside me. Hurry up.  I whistle and clack my teeth. Give me a second; I just need to prepare.  Ranger, my director, hisses. Circle-carver, if you cannot get onto your rock, I will choose someone else to sing your so...

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“The Fae of the Sea” by Sierra Tkacik

Submitted to Contest #83

People have always known about the fae. Lessons are taught from birth on how to keep safe, to keep the only freedoms that are certain. There are common lists in every town.  Never stray from the paths, or venture into the forest after dark. The faeries know better than to visit the beaten paths, where they are at risk from hunters and mages, looking to use their inborn magic for their own gain, but off of common paths and trails, the fae host constant revels, and no one is safe from the celebrations. After dark is the same story, but m...

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“Tally ho” by Sierra Tkacik

Submitted to Contest #74

Eben huffed as he pulled on the weathered rope. After four years it still hadn’t split, thank heavens, but it did lose the cracked strays that used to give him splinters. He kept pulling and pulling until he made it to the far side of what he dubbed the kitchen, as it was where he received his food for the week and other supplies. It wasn’t typically this heavy though, so he was hopeful.  With a final tug, he gained enough slack to tie the rope to a pulley system he designed during his second year. The crank squeaked and squealed, but i...

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“Finding Golden Midnight” by Sierra Tkacik

Submitted to Contest #62

On golden midnight, two sisters will fall in love and cause the return of dragons.  What utter garbage.  When I was born (five seconds before my sister, mind you), the midwife was almost frightened. “That girl’s got a battle in her,” were her exact words when she saw the black and silver streaking through my too-long hair, the translucent paleness to my skin, “I’m not sure we’ll like the outcome.” But my eyes opened soon after to see the cold world I had been forced into, and both she and my mother were taken by the sparkling blues...

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“Living Irony” by Sierra Tkacik

Submitted to Contest #60

Sean hefted the sledgehammer over his shoulder and with a grunt, sent the rocketing into the window, shattering the glass as well as the silence. "What. The. Heck." A teenage boy with buzzed hair and more scars than he probably should have gawked at the damage. "We can't do that!" "It's nothing personal, Andrew, it's just survival; a good business sense, really." Whitney gestured using her spike-covered baseball bat much more flippantly than a woman in her late thirties really should be , pointing it at Sean who was already climbing through ...

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“Grapefruit” by Sierra Tkacik

Submitted to Contest #24

“Jane!” A voice bellowed from the recesses of the ship. “Where is my grapefruit?”“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” A voice echoed from the opposite direction.“My grapefruit, Jane! The one I specifically had my name on! The one you stole!”“First of all, why would you print your name on a freaking grapefruit? Second of all, if you didn’t want me to take it, you shouldn’t have put it in a community fridge.”“So you did take it!”“Why is this grapefruit so important, anyway?”“Do you know, Jane, how many people have died in ships due to scu...

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