A cloudless day
chanting through the wind
gentle and free.
A hint of magic
calling bewitching sights
never seen, to be.
An invisible string
tied tightly between you
and me.
October
is finally here
and it’s all I can see.
©2021 Jai Lynn
Tag: magic
“The High Priestess”
Do you see
what is?
Or do you see
what you believe?
An aura of mist
and arcane secrets lost in time
A moonlight smile
gone in the drop of a dime
She looks through you
when you walk by
She knows every time
your lips will lie
sometimes even before you do.
But don’t be afraid.
We all will know her secrets
one day.
©2021 Jai Lynn
This post “The High Priestess” appeared first on Jai Lynn.
Vignette #32 “Signs”
I don’t know much about the world. It’s too big and it’s too vast and it knows so much more than I ever could. That’s a scary thought… but maybe a blessing in disguise. The world, just how it knows how everything began, knows how everything will end. It knows how I will end. It even knows your ending.
Even though I believe that to be true, I don’t believe the world wants to scare us. It’s just made of this cosmic magic that we as humans can’t even begin to comprehend. If anything, I think in its own way… it really is trying to save each of us. Not all of us realize this and we fight and we question and we doubt. It’s easier to believe that everything is random, that any misfortune that falls our way is just bad luck and not divine intervention. Some of us want to be saved, some of us don’t. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think that’s part of the collective experience of being human.
I believe the world tries to talk to us everyday, in its own way. When it stops raining just as you are about to head out for work, when the cardinal lands on the windowsill just as you had a lonely thought, when the person you most wanted to see walks through the door. All those little moments, even though they happen everyday, are magic.
Or at least that’s how I see it.
Magic doesn’t have to be dramatic to be real. Look around and I’m sure if you’re paying attention you’ll see it too.
©2021 Jai Lynn
This post Vignette #32 “Signs” appeared first on Jai Lynn.
Flash Fiction – "Creation"
It was a game she liked to play.
The steam rose into the air. Jasmine, rose, the caffeine of the black tea all blended together into one. It made the room smell like flowers. From the right corner of her desk the tiny porcelain cup let the steam fly in a steady stream, the tulips painted onto the glass dancing in breeze that wasn’t there. The cup would never cool and in turn, let the room fill with everlasting spring.
The writer looked up from her keyboard to the cup at the corner of her desk. Dew on the grass, fresh air dancing in the sun, bright beautiful flowers all permeating into the essence of the room.
Across the room, a glimmer of steel caught the writer’s sight. Slowly, she watched the shape coalesce before her eyes. The tip appeared first, silver as stars and sharper than a corner, with the body following after. Long, but lean enough to be a comfortable weight when held, and built to move like the wind. It’s handle was wrought in sunlight itself, golden and as shining as the day.
She rose from her desk slowly, letting her fingers linger to tap on the surface. It was right there just waiting for her to take it. Some part of her though still believed she was dreaming. So… she reached for the tea first, because that was more likely to be real. Her hand reached out only to pause before the little porcelain handle. Then gingerly, like petting a strange animal, she let her fingers tap on the surface. Hot to the touch. Then, braver, she reached all the way and nearly burned her hand when the steaming cup was in her palms. When the tea went down, it was like drinking from a meadow. The writer put the cup back on the desk.
One step, then two she crossed the room. The way the sunlight was streaming through the window almost made the sword seem like a mirage. As if when she reached out to touch it all she would find would be the wall. The writer steeled herself, letting her fingers reach… then close… fingertip… by fingertip around the golden handle. Her body was very still. Even after having played this game a few times before, she still could not believe that this was real life. The weight in her hand was not imagination by the way her bicep braced. Cautiously, she pointed the blade at the window.
There were a few other sentences she had written.
Once the sword was in the girl’s hand a shadow appeared as the wind blew east….
Through the open window a gust rocked the hinges of the shutters and sent a chill down her spine.
The strange scent of sugar burned to a crisp pervaded the sweet smell of spring. Magic was afoot…
Her nose crinkled. It wouldn’t be long now.
The shadow moved closer, the shape shifting with the wind, until it wasn’t a shadow but a someone at the window.
A clang rang the air as steel met steel. The someone said “Are you ready?”
Standing sword to sword, the writer answered “Always.” Then she smiled, the girl on the opposite side of the window smiling too.
A grand adventure was waiting just for them to go and meet it.
Living Life # 16 “Spelled.”
(a collection of independent vignettes)
Bubble bubble toil and trouble…
Cassie spread the the pages of the tome out before her. It was easier to read the handwritten scribbles and see the crawling illustrations this way. They scattered across the page and in the dusk light, almost seemed to be moving with a word jumping a few lines here or the picture of the lemon going fuzzy and then rapidly going into focus again. After she lit the three candles, it got better. The dust was a different issue.
The book had not been touched in over twenty five years, Cassie was sure. It had been her grandmother’s a long time ago. She had passed it onto Cassie’s mother and then she had passed it to the attic where it sat long and lonely for a quarter of a century. At least till it had found its way onto the kitchen table right now. Every time Cassie flipped a page, a cloud went up, a cough rattled her throat and the dust clung to wood of the table in tiny finger prints.
So she began by lighting the sage. A small bowl, the bundle of herbs and a match that burst and then died. Then that was complete. It filled the room with a rush of scent, earthy and natural, taking over the air and it wasn’t long before the dust was forgotten.
Looking at the tome was like reading a manual for building a chair or a recipe for pumpkin cookies. All that needed to be done, now that she could see and breathe, was follow the steps.
Bubble bubble toil and trouble…
The pot of boiling water on the stove was starting to salivate, the water sputtering out in rabid little pops. Lifting the lid she tossed in a sprig of rosemary, then another. The water simmered down, satisfied for the moment. At least until Cassie threw in the frankincense and myrrh. Together the words ordered, so as to help the reach of her little cooking stint. A dash of salt for safety, a bunch of roses for attraction, and then the clove to keep the whole thing tightlipped from the world. Or at least her mother.
Rubbing her hands together Cassie stirred the contents and a gray smoke cloaked the room mingling with the sage burning on the counter.
Bubble bubble toil and trouble…
Now only a few bits left to add, then the incantation.
“Bubble bubble
toil and trouble
dusky air,
lock of hair
leaves of rose,
two blue bows
a ghost’s kiss,
a snake’s hiss
the pretty things
you shouldn’t miss.
On this eve
meet my need.
Help to find
a steady mind
to guide me through
this witch’s brew
To see the past
understand at last
the hidden truth
my question asked
and granted answer
to become advancer
and much more clear
in the way of seer. “
The candles went out like a sigh. All was quiet. Even the night outside was still… all except for her heart which stuttered for a beat, then two. What did she do? Had it worked?
Cassie didn’t feel any wiser. Or, any less confused. Maybe her suspicion had been wrong and Grandmother hadn’t been a witch at all…
A purple spark jumped from her fingers lighting the room in a flash, then another. Cassie held up her hands and stared. Again, her hands sparked, brighter this time, because she was aware. It danced like a little beam of static across her palms, and then back.
“Cassie…” called her mother from upstairs. “how you doing Sweetie?”
“Magical Mom.” she smirked. “Just magical.”
A pause, then “Are you being sarcastic?”
Cassie shook her head and called out, “No!” Then quietly to herself, “Not this time.” She clenched her fists but the purple flickers remained.
Bubble bubble toil and trouble…
Jai Lynn 