Folksburywoods

Morak stood atop the temple’s stairs, searching the horizon for a sign that the darkness had abated. For three hundred years, the keepers have hidden away in this mountaintop temple, hoping to remain undetected by the advancing hordes of the Dark Lord. Every morning, Morak would climb the steps and…

He was a fool. Just ask anyone. “That Thomas is a bigger fool than a fool’s fool,” the townsfolk would say. Thomas never said much but was polite and never got cross, so the villagers left him to be. Besides, who but a fool could they get to be the…

This story is not about a girl sent to visit an evil witch in the forest. It is about a girl who, like many of us, got lost while walking in the woods. Famia was her parents’ only child, born late in the marriage. When she was young, her parents…

For years, Anya made the pilgrimage to the Elder Tree. Now in her one-hundredth year, the matron wonders if this will be her final visit. As in previous years, she brings a flower to lay at its trunk after telling her wish. This year, however, brings a surprise, for when…

T’ain’t much a feller can do in these parts when leaves start to turn sept sit back and enjoy the colors. Me and the hound here gots us plenty of nuts and berries stored in holler trees so we won’t starve when the frost hits.  Time turns a little slower…

Millennia, their kind, have waited in darkness for the fall foretold by the elders. “Those who walk on two will consume themselves in avarice. Humans are not the top predators; that belongs to us,” whispered the beast as she glided silently through the night. Tonight would be just the beginning.…

“A penny for your thoughts, my deary,” said the creature as the girl passed. “Why should I give you anything, even for money? Anyone can see you’re up to no good, and I should stay clear of your kind,” snapped the girl. “Perhaps a potion then. I only wish to…

Mr. Tuttlesworth enjoyed gardening. It was all he ever talked about.  When the snow was barely off the ground, he and his dog Max were out preparing the soil for planting. If a late frost came, Mr. Tuttlesworth would cover his seedlings with blankets and place hot kettles of tea…

Anya was nearing the end of her life and had seen more hardship than everyone had the right to. Her daily walks still brought hope for the future and those who would be here after her. This Autumn was particularly hard on her, having lost her partner recently to the…

Tor sat on the steps of the bridge and thought deeply about his problem. Lars crossed the footbridge and, seeing Tor on the ground, exclaimed, “What is this we have here sitting all mopy on the walking path?” Tor hung his head and shook his head from side to side.…

Since before the dawn of recorded time, the boatman has worked the oar to bring the dead across the river Styx. He has forgotten the number of nameless faces his boat has ferried from the land of the living to the land of the dead. One thing has always bothered…

Once, not long ago, there lived a wee bit of a man in the hollow of a tree. You might even miss him staring out of his cubby hole as you passed. Folks would say Will liked his solitude, and it was best not to horn in on his affairs…

Rainier enjoyed the stillness of dusk. The wind died, and the birds slept, leaving only the still air of night.  The lighthouse keeper had maintained this light for over fifty years, and now it was time to hand the keys over to a younger soul.  On this last night, the…