Small Dramas

I went out to Clear Creek this afternoon, of course, since it was sunny and warm and I was sick of sitting in front of the computer. I found a big stripey bird feather (from a goose, maybe?) and explored a new trail. And I witnessed a strange event in miniature.

I had stopped to listen to a tock-tock-tock sound, to try and decide if a bird was making it or a frog, when I noticed the rustle of leaves just off the trail. I thought maybe the wind was moving them, but when I crouched down I saw a snake heaving about under the leaves. It was just a slim little snake, not sure what kind except it wasn't a garter snake or a copperhead or a rattlesnake. I thought it might be finishing up shedding its skin. Then I saw a whiskery mouse nose poke out of the leaves, and the snake slithered off with its tail crooked up, and some very obvious mouse bites on the tail. The mouse disappeared the other way, only the rustle and slight movement of leaves to show where it was.

I wonder if the snake and the mouse met in the musty, shadowy, beetle-filled world beneath the leaves and the snake tried to eat the mouse, who fought back. Or maybe the mouse saw the snake, assumed it was going to attack, and decided to attack it first. I'll never know.

Also today, I sold my Twitter serial story, "Unicorn Chase," to Thaumatrope! It's 41 tweets long and the editor said it will likely be posted throughout July. The word count all told is about 1,000 words, but it sure took a lot more effort than an ordinary flash story. It was an interesting challenge, but I don't know that I'd want to do it again.

I found a four-leafed clover today too. I used to find them constantly, without trying--I'd just be walking along and see one. I never thought anything of it; it's just pattern recognition, right? But then I stopped finding them. I bet I hadn't found one in 15 years, and then this afternoon I was walking along and boom, there was a four-leafed clover. I stuck it into The Magic of Oz to press it.

And...the time travel story rewrite is DONE. I had to finish it today because the editor emailed me and asked how it was going. So I got all nervous and wrote him back and said it's going great, it's a much better story, I just want to do another editing pass and I'll send it to you tomorrow! And then I had to, you know, sit down and write it. I don't know if it's all that good, but it's sure a lot better than the last version. I changed it so completely that literally only a few sentences are the same. Oh, and the new title is "The Neverstone," which I'm rather proud of. Now I just hope the editor likes it.