Seth Morrigan is a loner. He has his herb garden, his alchemy, his experiments and tinctures. These are enough.
Until he is beaten up by bullies. Until Caitlyn Wilson takes an interest in him. Until cracks begin to show in time and space.
Clicking on the 10.01 link will take you to the beginning of the story, and there are links to the next chapter at the end of each entry.
He wanted to be a drop of water. He wanted to fall into the basin and slip down its drain. He wanted to disappear.
The tiny stars above him grew brighter and wavered and fell one by one until finally, finally, he curled up and slept.
He brought his fists down again and again. The fire roared around him, white and orange and yellow and red, and his skin cracked and bubbled and turned black and fell away.
He had started the herb garden last year. Something to keep him busy, keep him out of trouble. That was what his mother said. She watched him sometimes, from the kitchen window.
The air shimmered above the asphalt. Engines rumbled and roared. Bass thumped from the open window of a nearby car. His sternum thumped along with it as he walked across the parking lot.
“How about you? Who would you curse?”
“The darkness.”
They skirted a butterfly bush growing near the wall.
“Darkness? How would you curse the absence of light?”
“With a flamethrower.”
He wanted to say that not all bears were created equal, that some bears had drunk Scandinavian wizards riding on them, that he didn’t want to fight these bears.
Burnt match smell. Birthdays. A whole cake just for him, decorated like a garden. White flowers, green grass, blue sky, bright orange sun. Like an eye of fire.
