The Festival – A Suzi Story

On January 2, 2020 By HeidiIn Creative Writing, Free Write, Uncategorized1 Comment

Chapter 1

There’s nothing Suzy loved more than riding through the sky in style. Finding the perfect vehicle, she picked a brightly colored fall leaf, dressed in the brightest reds, oranges, and yellows. Hopping on top of it, she tipped it up, catching the tail of the blowing wind, and away she flew.

Riding the waves of the wind currant she dipped up and down, side to side…her tickling laughter could be heard echoing through the blue sky as she steered her leaf to her favorite place, Heidi’s house! Wouldn’t her dear friend be happy to see her. Taking her mind off of where she was going, she suddenly came to an abrupt halt, spiraling to the ground and landing on her face with an indignant plop. Rolling on her back, she brushed the hair out of here face, and staring down at her was a very annoyed looking Heidi. She seemed to have a red mark on her forehead…hmmm…ooooh dear.

Grinning up at Heidi, Suzy stood up, and flapping her wings, flew up to Heidi’s face. “I can fix that ya know.” Taking out her wand, she drew back her hand to fix her landing mark that she’d left on her friend’s face.

Quickly taking a step back and putting her hand up to ward off any “fixing” Suzi was planning, Heidi quickly said, “No, no! That’s okay. I can do it myself.” Waving her hand over her sore forehead, the mark and pain disappear. Taking a deep breath as she muttered a prayer for patience, she smiled and asked, “What brings you here on this fine fall morning?”

Landing in Heidi’s outstretched hand Suzi replied, “Well…I’m on vacation from my mandatory fairy retraining, ya know, seeing as how I’ve had a few mishaps, and I was thinking about how nice it would be to see my bestie. So here I am!” Settling in Heidi’s palm, Suzi looked at her nails as if there was something interesting on them. “Ya know…I hear there’s a huge fall festival going on for elementals and witches. I thought maybe you’d like to go with me.” Looking up from her nails she excitedly continued. “There will be contests and stuff, and I can show you all I learned! What do you say? Wanna go?”

Frowning, Heidi thought about declining. The festival was something that the elders had conjured up in order to entice those who chose to keep to themselves, those who were powerful and had lived longer than most of the so called elders, out into the open in hopes to talk them into joining the counsel, or find out some of their secrets. Personally, she thought, as one of those powerful witches who kept to herself, it was more a way to find their weaknesses or force of to agree to the restrictions that they had put on the rest of the magical community in order to control them. “I don’t know. You know how I like my privacy, only allow a few special individuals into my home. It’s why I live deep in the forest, away from prying eyes. If I go to the festival, they may think they could come and visit me whenever they want.”

Suzi’s smile disappeared, only to be replaced by a deep frown. “But Heidi…I’m not allowed to go without a sponsor. And if I don’t go and prove I won’t screw things up, they will take away my magic.” A small tear fell down her cheek, and the tiny drop landed on Heidi’s skin. One dropped followed the other as the little fairy began to cry in earnest, head bent, and shoulders shuddering, as she cried her eyes out. Finally able to catch her breath, she raised her tear filled eyes, a dirt streaked face up to Heidi. ” Please….”

Making her decision, Heidi gently wiped the tears away as she smiled down at Suzi. “How can I resist those big blue eyes. We will go and…,” her smile turned into a grimace, “see if you can stay out of mischief. Give me a minute to change into something more presentable.”

Carrying Suzi into the house, Heidi set her down on the kitchen table while she went to change out of her gardening clothes into a dress and walking shoes. Grabbing her cloak and basket she stopped by the door and asked, “Are you ready?”

Barely being able to contain her excitement, Suzi quickly flew over to Heidi and landed on her shoulder. Not wanting to wait another minute, Suzi decided to use a new talent she acquired. Closing her eyes, she visualized where she wanted to go and seconds later they were on the outskirts of the festival’s giant field. The only problem being was Heidi was sitting on a high branch in an ancient old tree, barely keeping her balance when she realized where she had landed. Unfortunately, she was terrified of heights. Closing her eyes, she muttered several angry swear words, and proceeded to take some slow deep breaths. Opening one eye she peered around for a place to land, and once calm she levitated gently down to the forest floor. Once firmly on the ground she looked around for Suzi, intent on killing her once she found her.

“Suzi!” she called out with a voice edged in anger. “Where the hell are you?!” Hearing a timid voice calling out here name, she looked in the general direction the sound had come from and spotted Suzi…hanging on a thin branch, skirt caught in the tree. Wanting to laugh out loud, but not wanting to hurt the little fairy’s feelings, Heidi sent a bolt of lightening to the small branch, causing the branch to break and sending Suzi spiraling down to the ground. Heidi had her revenge on the irresponsible little brat.

“New trick I see,” Heidi commented sarcastically, as she absentmindedly brushed a few flecks of dirt off her skirt. “I’m guessing you didn’t stay long enough to learn how to land properly.”

Pick herself up off the ground for the second time today, Suzi brushed off her butt and looked up at Heidi. “Jeez…when did you get so mean?”

“There is a difference between mean and teaching a lesson, little one,” she replied patiently. “That,” she pointed up at the tree, “was a lesson. What did you learn from it?” she asked, eyebrow raised.

“I learned you are mean…,” Suzi muttered.

Clearing her throat Heidi asked, “Excuse me? I missed that.”

Thinking twice about responding in a rude manner, Suzi replied, “I said I learned I should be more thorough with my teleporting. Sorry.”

“And maybe pay more attention in your lessons. No come on,” Heidi smiled as she straightened her cloak. “Let’s go see what the festival has in store for well-intended pixie and a mistrustful ancient witch.”

“Follow me.” Flying in front of Heidi, Suzi led them to a table where three rather comical looking witches with sour expressions sat waiting. “We have to sign in here.” If looks could kill, Suzi would have been reduced to ashes. “What?” Suzi squealed. “It’s not that long a line.”

Trying hard to quell her desire to explode, Heidi raised her eyes to the heavens while tapping her foot, praying to the Goddess for patience. The one thing she hated almost as much as heights, was waiting in line. Suzi wisely kept silent.

When the others waiting in line saw who was behind them, they quickly moved out of the way, bowing and giving greetings as they did.

“Good morning, Mistress.”

“I’m sorry, I did not see you, Mistress. Please. Go ahead.”

“So good to see you, Mistress.”

Smiling politely, Heidi greeted each in return as she slowly walked to the table where there was a sheet of parchment. “Good morning, Agatha. So good to see you.”

Snorting, Agatha, who sat in the middle, her expression growing ever more sour even though she tried to smile, said sweetly. “Mistress Heidi. I did not expect to see you here, as you rarely travel outside your wood.” Glancing at Suzi who smiled brightly at the witch as she hovered just over Heidi’s shoulder, she added. “You seem to have an unwanted…guest.”

Glancing at Suzi, her smile softened. “Not unwanted.” Heidi turned back to the three in front of her who were eyeing Suzi as if she were something vile. Making a mental note to keep an eye on her little friend, for elementals were hunted by those who used dark magic for their magical little bodies, Heidi turned her now fierier eyes to the three…ladies in front of her. Smile still pasted on her face as she watched with some satisfaction as the women paled considerably, she replied just as sweetly, “I would be sorely put out if anything…untoward happened to Suzi.”

Those who were standing around them trying to act like they were not watching or listening took a healthy step back. The message was clear. The three witches at the table were on their own if they decided to cross the sorceress in front of them. The two on either side of Agatha tried to distance themselves without moving from their chairs. Scowling at the two imbeciles, Agatha turned her glare towards Heidi. While powerful in her own right, she was not suicidal. She also knew Heidi well enough to know the threat was not aimed at her, but those around them. “Keep your wand in your skirts, mistress,” she spat, keeping up the pretense that Heidi was not her favorite creature in this Goddess forsaken world. “While there are those who would rather be a stain on the ground, I am not stupid. Your little companion is safe from me.”

Her smile broadened, Heidi inclined her head in a show of respect and acknowledgement. “Thank you, Agatha. I knew you one of the more intelligent ones. Good day.” With a slightly dimmed smile at the other two, Heidi motioned for Suzi to follow and they entered the festival grounds.

“What was that all about?” Suzi whispered in Heidi’s ear when she perched on her shoulder.

“A warning,” Heidi answered pretending to look at the wares at the first booth they encountered. Where she did not need a new basket, she had to admire the craftsmanship.

“What kind of warning?” Suzi asked perplexed.

“One I will tend to later. Be Careful little one. We are not alone.”

“Well, of course we’re not alone!” Suzi groused looking at the hundreds of people milling around them. “There are people everywhere,” she exclaimed rising into the air and throwing up her arms in a gesture to take everyone in, and causing more than one person to turn their eyes towards them.

Closing her eyes, once again praying for that patience she seem to never have, Heidi slowly moved to the next booth. “And now they all know we are here, too.”

“Oh,” Suzi said quietly, drifting down until she once again sat on Heidi’s shoulder, realizing what she had inadvertently done. Hunching in on herself, she groaned, “Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Heidi smiled, tilting her head to gently bump the pixie. Then, in Suzi’s mind, she whispered, Those who are looking for us knew we were here the moment we arrived. Out loud, Heidi began to talk to the pixie about more mundane things. What her stores needed, a pretty piece of material, the weather.

Hiding behind a group of birch trees, two trolls stood together watching the arrival of Mistress Heidi and her obnoxious pixie Suzi.

“We must go quickly to Master!” Grindle whispered .”He will want to know of the witch’s arrival.”

Turning to leave, his friend Thorn grabbed his arm go halt her progress. “No…wait! We need to find out more. Listen!”

The conversation between Heidi and Suzi drifted over to the troll’s big pointy ears as they took in every word. Crooking his finger, Grindle motioned for Thorn to follow. They steadily kept pace, staying hidden behind each tree they came upon. Knowing what would happen to them if they were caught by the witch.

There were every imaginable creature, and some unimaginable as they were thought extinct, at the fair. As Heidi took in her surroundings, noting those who paid them no attention and those who paid a little too much attention, she listened to Suzi as she chattered excitedly in her ear.

“I thought griffons were extinct!” Suzi cried darting towards the huge half lion half bird creature who was preening itself as it sat in one of the grassy clearings dotted around the fair.

With a flick of her wrist, Heidi jerked Suzi back just as the griffon snapped its beak at her.

“Careful now,” she warned. “While the griffon is a majestic creature who, unless provoked, would not hurt one who meant no harm,” she cooed as reached up to pet the creature’s head. Bowing, it closed its eyes as she rubbed between them, a gentle purr emanating from its chest. Glancing at Suzi while she scratched, she said, “You are merely a snack. You must be careful, little one.”

Glancing over at the forest, she stared directly where the two trolls stood gawking. Terror filled their eyes as they realized they had not been as careful as they thought. Quickly looking at each, they nodded in consent and ran in separate directions. Regardless of their short stubby legs they possessed great speed and appeared to have just disappeared in a rapid blur.

Too preoccupied with the large creature who was once again eyeing her as if she was something tasty, Suzi pulled at the hood of Heidi’s cloak.

“Maybe we should look at something else,” she gulped.

Giving the Griffin one last pat, a small satisfied smile on her face, Heidi nodded and they moved on. At the next stall was a young witch by the name of Elena who Heidi had allowed in her small circle of people she called friends. With the demeanor of a shy young woman, Elena was anything but. Shrewd and almost as distrustful of others as Heidi, she picked one of her healing balms in a small clay jar with a cork stopper and handed it to her.

“You are being watched, it seems,” Elena mused.

“So it seems,” Heidi answered looking at the bottle before putting it in her basket. Pretending to look over some of the dried herbs hanging from the stall post, she continued. “It has been long since I have been in town. Who do those two belong to?”

Elena leaned forward, signaling for Heidi to do the same.” Rumor has it the trolls are working for a very powerful Warlock, a name I would rather not repeat. But I can tell you, you must stay away from him at all cost.”

“And why would that be?” Heidi responded, raising an eyebrow.

Carefully looking around as if to make sure no one was listening Elena continued in a hushed voice ” He is evil incarnate. Some say he is the Devil himself. And among other things, he’s responsible for the death of many of the pixies and the fairies..so please take care of your little pet.”

Visibly wincing at Elena’s careless words, Heidi quickly corrects the girl’s assumption. “Suzi is not my pet, but I thank you for the warning. We will be careful.” Paying for the item, Heidi wandered off into the crowd, bracing herself for the outburst that was inevitable.

The little pixies face was as red as the berries on the bushes scattered throughout the forest. Just as Suzi was about to release her rage, Heidi lifted one finger, and placed it to her lips, immediately silencing the tirade.

“The trees have ears little one, and they are listening.”

“But Heidi she has no right…”

The look Heidi directed at the still angry pixie shut her outburst right down. Expelling a deep sigh, Suzi pointed to the woods beyond the fairgrounds. “We can find a spot to put up our tent in here.” And taking the lead she flew ahead of the ancient witch to find a resting spot for them both.

After approving of the spot, that was a good distance away from the majority of the fair goers, Heidi gathered her magic, and with a few words and a flick of her wand a simple tent appeared where the space once stood empty.

“After you little one.”

Flying through the open flap Suzi gasped in surprise. The inside of the tent appeared twice as large as the outside would have you believe. The inside came equipped with all the comforts of home. Looking around in amazement, Suzi spotted a hollowed out tree stump with a thick cushy pillow inside of it and red velvet curtains that covered the opening. “For me?”

A genuine smile stretched across Heidi’s face. “Yes dear one, for you”

Suzi could not contain her excitement as she flew around the tent, bouncing off the sides of the heavy canvas material, until she bounced into one of the lanterns that contained a burning candle. Just as the lantern came crashing to the ground, Heidi grabbed it and set it back on the table. Stopping mid-flight Suzi cleared her throat. “Um…I think I’ll go check out my bedroom.” and quickly darted behind the curtains.

Sighing, Heidi walked over to the table and set her basket down on top before emptying its contents. Taking time to prepare a mid-day meal, she then sat down and took out the last content lying quietly on the bottom of the basket.

“What is that?” Suzi asked fluttering over to where her plate of nuts and fruits waited for her.

“A note that someone slipped into my basket when they thought I was not looking,” Heidi mused, opening it.

“What does it say?” Suzi asked before popping a juicy piece of peach into her mouth.

“It seems to be a warning of some kind,” Heidi frowned.

Grabbing another piece of the delicious peach, Suzi fluttered over to perch on Heidi’s shoulder so she too could read the note. “Is it from that witch who called me your pet?” she growled.

“No,” Heidi answered absently.

“The nerve of some people,” Suzi snapped before shoving the piece of fruit into her mouth. “Me! A pet!” she continued as she chewed. “I should have turned her into a toad for such an insult. Or maybe a goat. What do you think?”

As she talked juice dribbled down her chin landing on the front of Heidi’s dress. Glancing at the dots of juice that now stained the paper down to the mess that was staining her top, Heidi frowned. The pixie had every right to be angry. She just wished it was not with a mouth full of fruit.

Not waiting for Heidi to answer, Suzi continued her tirade as she lifted off of Heidi’s shoulder to land near her plate where she picked up a slice of grape.

“Maybe I will go and turn her into a mouse and feed her to the gryphon. Then we’ll see who is a pet and who is….”

Tuning her out, Heidi looked at the paper once again. There were four words scrawled across it. Four words that confirmed what she feared. That the festival was a trap. What she had not considered was, it was a trap set solely for her. The question was, who had laid it.

A cry of surprise followed by a crash brought Heidi out of her musings. Twisting towards the sound, she saw a flickering glow from one of the tents inner doorways. Muttered a curse, she quickly rose to put out what she was sure was a fire in the kitchen.

Fluttering to the floor, forgotten in her haste, the note softly landed on the rug, it’s words facing the tent’s canvas ceiling.

You will be mine.

We are not sure when each chapter will come out or how many there will be. We actually live across country from each other, as in on opposite sides of the continent, so our schedules are not exactly in sync, but we will do the best we can.

Suzi’s Birthday Gift – 2018

On August 1, 2018 By HeidiIn Creative Writing, Flash Fiction, Free Write5 Comments

As some of you know, a friend of mine and I like to play a little with writing on the spot. Suzanne Carey’s character is a fairy by the name of Suzi. I play a witch that lives in the forest. We take turns writing pieces of the story. The fun part is she is on the other side of the continent from me. We don’t Skype or talk about what is going to happen next as we write. We see what the other has written and go from there. There is an entire story around these two that still has to be finish at some point. In the meantime, we have these little surprise visits. Here is this year’s birthday party Suzi is surprising me with.

Suzi’s Birthday Gift

Waking up to the sound of the chirping birds, Suzi gave a loud yawn and a big stretch. Not very fairy like, but no one could hear her in the hole of the tree she called home. Conveniently located in Heidi’s back yard. Filled with excitement, Suzi jumped out of bed and began to plan for her favorite day. Heidi’s birthday!!

Now last year she admittedly went a little too far, but not on purpose. When Suzi tried to do good things it somehow managed to get out of hand. But this year was going to be different. This year Suzi was going to be very low key and have complete control. That was the plan anyway.

Sitting at the entrance of her cubbyhole, Suzi tapped her chin, thinking… thinking… thinking. All the sudden she leaped up excitedly, bumping her head as she jumped.

“Ouch!” she exclaimed as she rubbed the top of her head. Shaking it off, she fluttered to the nearest branch and scanned the yard. Finally seeing what she was looking for, she took off in full flight until she caught up to her prey.

A beautiful monarch butterfly was fluttering around the garden, looking for food when it rudely knocked over by an out of control fairy. Landing on the ground, the butterfly righted herself then turned to Suzi.

“What in the world is wrong with you!” she sputtered in an indignant voice.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean too. I just wanted to talk to you.”

“What could you possibly want to speak to me about?” she asked with a slight sneer in her voice.

“Well,” Suzi nervously asked. “Would you be willing to call a few of your friends to help celebrate Heidi’s birthday with me? I want to keep it low key and not to flashy this year. And I think maybe 10 or 20 of your closest friends would be just right.” Suzi was so busy chatting away about how mellow a few butterflies would be, she didn’t notice how insulted Madame Monarch was getting.

“So,” She fumed. “This Little nit witted fairy doesn’t think we aren’t beautiful enough to cause a great stir?! Well, we will see about that!!” Interrupting Suzi’s excited chatter with a loud clearing of her voice, the butterfly asked, “Time and Place?”

“Oh! Wonderful!” Suzi squealed. “Right by this big tree at noon! Thank you so much!” But Madame Monarch was already gone. Oh, ok Suzi thought. I’ll just get the rest of the party decorations ready.

Taking out her wand, she went about setting up a long table filled with all the foods she knew Heidi liked. Over to the left she created a huge dolphin sculpture made of ice. She loved how it sparked in the sun! She liked it so much she also added a mermaid ice sculpture and a lobster one for good measure. Over to the right she set up a champagne fountain with hundreds of the finest crystal glasses. So sparkly!! And everyone knows how much fairies love sparkly things.

Inside the house:

Peace and quiet. Such a wonderful thing. Yet it felt…wrong. I hadn’t had peace and quiet on my birthday in years.

A flash of concern went through my mind that something had terrible had happened to Suzi, but then I dismissed it. She was perfectly fine when I had seen her last night fluttering into her house. So why was it so quiet this morning?

Not entirely sure I should, I cracked an eye open. Nothing. Sitting up in bed, I looked around thinking maybe movement would trigger whatever ‘surprise’ Suzi had cooked up this year. Nope. Nothing. Not a dragon, or deluge or exploding volcano. No natives running for the hills, no out of control animals, the house was still standing – miracle in itself – nothing. Nada. Zip. Now I was worried.

Climbing out of bed, I raced into the living room. Not a dust mote out of place. Was I really going to have a birthday without some sort of earth shattering catastrophe? I wasn’t sure if I should be relieved or upset. Although the day was still young.

Now I was terrified.

Taking calming breaths, berating myself for my vivid imagination, I decided maybe I should take advantage of the quiet and enjoy a nice soothing bath.

Outside:

Almost done, Suzi thought.

Looking at the sky Suzi could see by the position of the sun that it was almost noon, so needing to add a final touch before the main show showed up, she lifted her wand and added a few hundred balloons, making them suspended in midair.

Viewing her creation, she was almost satisfied when she noticed there was no cake, so with a flick of her wand she added a six-tiered cake, decorated with edible flowers and shiny jewels. Finally satisfied she flew into the open window in search of Heidi.

Spotting her in the bathroom taking a nice warm bubble bath, ear plugs in her ears, eyes closed, listening to her favorite music. Wanting to get Heidi’s attention she pulled out one of her earbuds and yelled, “Heidi!!” in her ear. Heidi nearly jumped out of her skin, she was so startled, sending water all over the bathroom floor.

“What the hell!!!” Heidi sputtered.

Wiping the water out of her eyes, then shaking off, Suzi replied, “Hurry up! I have a surprise for you!!!”

Grumbling in irritation, Heidi yelled, “Get out of my bathroom!! Now!!”

“But…”

“NOW!!!!”

Dropping her head Suzi fluttered away dejectedly, and landed on the food table, picking candy off the cake and eating it.

About 15 minutes later Heidi came out of the house and found Suzi sadly eating stuff off the cake. Realizing she might have been a little too rough on the little fairy she said, “I’m sorry I yelled at you, but to be fair you should know by now that I don’t react well to loud sudden noises in the quiet. How many times have I almost singed your wings in retaliation to what I thought was an attack?”

“I know,” Suzi muttered. “I just wanted to surprise you. Look what I did!”

I looked around, amazed not only by the beauty of the ice sculptures and the cake, but by the calmness of it all. Maybe this time would be different, peaceful, non-traumatic.

“It’s very beautiful, Suzi. You’ve outdone yourself this year.” Smiling, I wandered over to the sculpture of the mermaid, marveling at the detail. The dolphin was just as lifelike. The lobster I wasn’t sure what to make of, but the detailing was no less. “When did you learn to ice sculpt?”

Noticeably happier, and feeling the beginnings of too much sugar, Suzi exclaimed, “Oh, ice sculpting is a simple flick of the wrist! I can even animate the sculptures! Watch!”

And so, with a flick of her wand, all the sculptures came to life, water everywhere. Unfortunately, just as the water started spraying a cloud of thousands of butterflies came glittering in. Butterflies hate water. The ensuing panic was epic. Thousands of butterflies swarmed all over the place, knocking down the decorations, getting tangled in the balloon strings, smashing into the cake. The scene was pure pandemonium.

Wiping water out of my eyes, careful not to crush any of the butterflies in the process, I smiled. Now this was a Suzi surprise. Sighing, I looked around me, trying to figure out what was missing. Deluge, check; mayhem, check; out of control animals, check. What was missing?

Then it hit me.

Finding Suzi trying to wrangle in the butterflies with her wet wings making it difficult to fly, I caught her eye. She looked so dejected. I was about to fix that. With a smirk that she did not understand, I raised my right hand and snapped my fingers. Instantly my house caught on fire.

“There. That’s better.”

Smelling the smoke Suzi looked over at the house.

“OMG! How… I didn’t… Oh lord!”

The fire started sparking, causing the balloons that were filled with helium to explode, causing the sky in the back yard to be filled with fire. The poor butterflies were dropping to the ground like charred pieces of paper. Searching for Heidi, Suzi was visibly terrified. Waving her wand, Suzi shot a bolt of electricity into the sky causing billowing clouds to gather, then with a massive clap of thunder the clouds let loose a torrent of water.

Laughing, I put my arms out and turned into a circle as the ground turned into a muddy mess at my feet. Slipping, I fell hard on my ass. Blinking at the sudden jarring, I looked around at all the charred butterflies.

“Well, that won’t do.”

Snapping my fingers again, my wand appeared in my hand. Frowning as I sifted through the multitude of spells in my head, I settle on one and lifted my wand. Chanting under my breath, I flicked my wand and the carcasses disappeared. Satisfied knowing they were alive and well some place safe, I tried to push to my feet only to slip back down in the mud, my clothes dragging me down.

Seeing Heidi struggle, on her birthday no less, Suzi flicked her wand and shut off the clouds. As the rain stopped the clouds parted and the sun once again shone through, and miracles of miracles a big beautiful rainbow arched itself over the smoky, chaired remains of the house. With a delicate shrug of her shoulders, a soggy Suzi flutter over to Heidi, landing on her shoulder.

“Happy birthday Heidi!”

“Oh, the fun isn’t over yet.” With a mischievous grin and another flick of my wrist, Suzi was sitting in the mud next to me, the same size minus the wings. “Wouldn’t want to damage something so delicate,” I explain to the bewildered looking fairy.

Pushing myself to my feet, leaving Suzi sitting in the mud, I stumbled over to the cake that somehow made it through the carnage relatively unscathed. Taking a knife, I cut a piece and put it on a plate. Picking up a fork, I took a generous bite and groan at the decadent taste of chocolate in my mouth.

“My favorite,” I groan.

Now unsure I want to go through with my plan, I decide to zap the top layer to a safe place for later enjoyment. On second thought, I zapped the next layer for good measure. Then, just as Suzi was managing to gain her unsteady footing, I scoop out a rather large handful of cake and launch it at her, hitting her just to the left of her nose. Smirking I wait.

Hmmm, Suzi thought. Okay…

Slipping and sliding over to the cake table, Suzi took out her wand and with a steady hand pointed at the cake, levitating it off the plate, directing it about a foot over Heidi’s head and snap…down it dropped, landing on top of her. The look on Heidi’s face was priceless and Suzi couldn’t contain her laughter. She laughed so hard she lost her balance, falling down into the mud. But she didn’t care, because in her opinion this was the best birthday ever.

Suz’s WP site is suzannevcarey.wordpress.com

Suzi’s Holiday Surprise…ish

On March 4, 2018March 4, 2018 By HeidiIn Creative Writing, Flash FictionLeave a comment

Sitting in her favorite tree Suzi leans against the bark, overlooking Heidi’s house. “No bodies home” she’s thinking. “Perfect time for setting up her epic Xmas/ New Year’s surprise!!” Sitting forward she runs her chin as she contemplates what to do… all the sudden Suzi jumps to her feet. “Got it!!” she yells, startling the bird on the next branch over. “Oops, sorry.”

Rubbing her hands gleefully she begins her plans.

Looking over the newly manicured lawn, she sees there is not enough space for what she has planned, so grabbing her wand she takes to the sky and circling the yard she systematically removes all the trees and bushes, leaving the entire property bare. “YES!!” She thought… now the fun begins!

Barely being able to hide her excitement Suzi begins to “redecorate” Heidi’s lane for the epic surprise. Wanting to do something completely different, Suzi waves her wand and BAM a volcano appears in the upper left-hand corner of the yard. Next to the volcano 2 big palm trees. Looking at the trees she decided to add coconuts, bananas and 12 monkeys. Then around the volcano and the trees she added pink sand and a large body of water. The moneys were having a wonderful time and Suzi stopped a moment to laugh at their antics.

Looking at the water she Suzi decided a water fountain in the middle would be quite nice, so with I flick of her wrist. Voilà! A big water fountain. Hmmm… that’s a big fountain. Ok… now some lighting. Oh! Tiki torches! Perfect! Again with a flick, 6 torches appear on the edge of the sand.

Looking around, Suzi was almost satisfied with her gift… but something was missing… hmmm… music!!! Thinking for a moment she added a gazebo on the lower right-hand corner of the yard and put in a oom-pa-pa band. Cool! And for an added touch Suzi added a handful of tropical birds, 3 more trees, a lion and his lioness, two adorable, rambunctious cubs, and last but not least three Yorkies.

Waiting until after the sun set, the full moon rose, the stars lit up the sky…the stage was set, almost. With a flick of her wand Suzi lit up the torches and signaled for the band to start. The trombonist hit the first note… ooooh no…

Just then Heidi drove up. Getting out of her car she stops dead in her tracks with her mouth hanging wide open. What the…!!!!

Just as Suzi was fluttering over to greet Heidi, a large shriek rent the night air, following by several more, increasing in volume. Oh lord, the birds were screeching in agitation. Rushing to see what was happening all Suzi could do was stare in silence at the utter chaos around her.

Apparently, the music startled the birds, causing the monkeys to get agitated and in their pancaked state started throwing the coconuts and bananas. One of the coconuts hit the lion and he roared angrily, causing his mate to roar in kind. The cubs thought it was great fun and started chasing the monkeys around. Not wanting to be left out, the Yorkies started yapping at full volume, and in their excitement started to pee all over the side of the house.

Dropped her wand in dismay, one of the monkeys grabbed it and imitating what he saw Suzi do, flicked the wand and caused the volcano to erupt! Just as Heidi was starting to back away, a coconut whizzed by her head, barely missing her, and went through her picture window. Another one flew by and lodged itself in the trombone, causing the band members head to almost explode.

The volcano was now shooting mile high flames and the lava was beginning to run red rivers… right… toward… the … house! Ooooh crap. Calling back her wand, the monkey who stole it looked down in his hands with dismay, let out a loud shriek of disapproval and started throwing bananas. One flew by Suzi, but unfortunately hit Heidi Square in the head.

Suzi had to laugh… the look said it all. So now the animals were running wild all over the neighborhood, the volcano was spewing fire and lava all over the place, and OMG!! The fireworks!! BOOM, Whiz! Shoom!! “Take cover!!” Suzi shouted over the loud din as she flew behind the tree.

The only thing left was the water fountain in the middle of the body of water. Taking out her wand, Suzi got ready to direct the water from the fountain towards the volcano, but a frightened bird hit Suzi’s arm as it flew bye, throwing her flick off course and causing the water to hit the broken window and filling the house with water. Well at least it won’t burn down… Suzi though… “um… I stand corrected.”

Blinking, Heidi tried to figure out why her vision was blurry and what the cacophony around her was. The last thing she remembered was pulling up to her house and feeling as if something was…out of sorts. It was a feeling she had had before, and it sent a sense of dread throughout her body. “Oh, please the power that be, no,” she muttered. Then….

As a what looked eerily like a flaming ball of fire soared over her head it all came back to her. The birds, the band, the VOLCANO! Sitting up, her head spun almost sending her back into the darkness. When the world righted, and she saw what her beautiful backyard had been turned into, she wished she had.

Monkeys were jumping from tree to tree, screaming as below lion cubs tried to catch them when they came to close to the ground. The trees that were not in were on fire. Stampeding past her was a group of four men, two of who were dragging another half-conscious man in between them, eyes wide, skin white, screaming, “Run! Get out of the way!” When she saw what was following them she understood the hurry. A massive male lion was chasing them, and behind him….

“SUZI!!!”

Sudden yapping from her left turned her attention to three Yorkies harassing a monkey. Or was the monkey harassing them? Frowning, she shook her head in confusion. What the hell was going on? Suddenly everything went still. As if someone pushed a pause button on a remote. Afraid to look, but unable to help herself, she looked towards the volcano that had suddenly become quiet. Lava still flowed down its sides, catching everything it touched on fire, but the flying boulders of fire had stopped.

“That can’t be good,” she muttered.

Scrambling to her feet, Heidi saw she wasn’t the only one staring at the deadly monstrosity in her backyard. Every animal stood stone still staring at it with wide eyes. No, not good at all. Thank the gods that the nearest neighbor was miles away. As the pressure in the air built, pressing in on her eardrums, even her skin, she frantically scanned the area for the culprit of this newest disaster

“Suzi! I know you are here,” she growled. “You need to come out here and help me clean up this mess before….” That was when she noticed her house, or what was left of it. “SUZI! Get out here NOW!!!”

Fluttering from around the only standing tree, Suzi sheepishly smiled and in the bravest voice she could muster replied. Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

“I’ll just … um… start cleaning up this mess.”

“Yes, that would be nice, but it will take the two of us,” Heidi said as calmly as she could, pulling out her wand. Looking wistfully back at the bonfire that used to be her house, she turned to the wildfire in front of her. “You remember how to make it rain, right?”

“Yes ma’am.” Taking her wand in hand, Suzi aimed toward the sky, but instead of a medium rain a deluge poured down from the sky, drenching everything and everyone in seconds

Standing in mud, completely drenched, her hair hanging heavy down her back, shoulders, and face, Heidi sighed. Reaching up, she pulled her hair back from her face so she could see. “Well, at least the fire is out.” She looked up at the volcano that was reading itself to implode. “For now. We need to stop that volcano before it blows us back to the dark ages. Any ideas?”

Creating a tornado, Suzi directed it over the water that now covered the entire yard, hoping it would collect all the water and she would then aim it into the volcano.

Well…that was the plan, but ya know what they say about the best laid plans….

The ground began to shake. The pressure grew. The animals suddenly came alive and scattered in all directions. Heidi dove out of the way of the lioness and her cubs, landing hard on the now dry dirt.

Now was her chance. Digging into her pocket, Suzi grabbed her magic dust pouch and headed for the volcano. Taking a hand full of dust, she dropped it over the volcano and poof it disappeared from sight. Not really knowing where she sent the volcano, she could only hope it was someplace uninhabited.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Heidi sits up and surveys the damage. Here and there wisps of smoke rose up into the night air. Everything as far as the eye could see in the dark was charred black. Pushing a stray strand of hair from her face the breeze blew, she realized that the sudden absence of moisture left her hair a curly frizzy mess. If only that was the mess to clean up. Looking sideways up at Suzi, who hovered just out of reach, once again looking sheepish, Heidi asked, “Anything else I should know about? Piranha in the Koi pond? Venomous snakes in my….” Heidi glanced behind her at the rubble. “Never mind.” Pushing herself to her feet with a groan, she brushed off her wrinkled slightly tighter clothes, pushed her hair into something that resembled sanity and took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders.

“This is going to take a while to clean up and put right. We better get started.”

Each taking their individual wands, Heidi and Suzi worked their way around the yard and replaced all the grass, the trees and the shrubs. Meeting at the charred remains of what used to be the house, Suzi dropped her head and in a tear strained voice said “I’m so sorry Heidi. I just wanted to make up for the lost holidays.”

Taking a look at the tiny tear streaked, ash covered little fairy, Heidi felt the anger drain out of her.

Lifting up her wand, Suzi wound up what little power she had left and in a brilliant flash of light recreated the original house. Falling out of the sky, she landed on her butt with a tiny thud.

Sitting down heavily next to her in the dirt, Heidi sighed. “I know, and I’m not mad. Nobody was seriously hurt, I think. Hey,” she nudged the fairy. “How about a bath and some dinner. I’ll order from the Thai place in town. They deliver way out here.”

Looking up at Heidi in gratitude, Suzi picked herself up and crawled into Heidi’s outstretched hand. Curling up into a little ball, she sighed in relief and closed her eyes.

Smiling, Heidi carefully got to her feet and walked into the house. In one of the guestrooms she had a specially made fairy alcove for just such an occasion. Although Suzi didn’t know about it because it was a Christmas present. After tucking her in, Heidi took a shower and went to bed, too exhausted to eat, happy to have survived the night in one piece. Tomorrow….well she would see.

I hoped you enjoyed one of many antics of Suzi and her surprises. This is a fun exercise in writing where Suzanne plays Suzi the Fairy and I play myself only as a witch of sorts. Suzanne lives on the east coast and I live on the west coast. We play on Facebook messenger, and usually it’s Suzi the Fairy that starts the well intended mischief. I have other little stories that I thought I posted on this site, but as I look I see I haven’t. I’ll have to find them and put them here and add a link to them as they are written on my page A Little Bit of Fiction. There is very little editing done to these stories. Some punctuation, formatting and spelling. Everything else is as it was written. Thank you for reading. 🙂

Suzi’s First Snow

On February 6, 2016February 6, 2016 By HeidiIn Creative Writing2 Comments

Waking up from her nightly sleep, in the hollow of her favorite tree, Suzy stretches and yawns. Looking out she gasps…oh my! The earth was covered with white fluffy stuff! Going to the entrance of her cubby hole in the tree she goes to fly out but slips on the slick surface and lands face first in the snow. Sitting up, Suzy sputters and wipes away the icy coldness. Wanting to share this wonderful new discovery with her favorite human, Suzy puts on her little green jacket, grabs her wand and heads out to see Heidi.

On her way there she notices some kids rolling up the snow into big balls, putting one on top of the other. Hmmm. Getting an idea, Suzi whips out her wand and with a flick of a wrist creates a snowman. But Suzi being Suzi decides one is not enough, so continuing to flick her wand she creates 2, then 3, then 4,… And before you know it she has created a small army of snowmen in the back yard of Heidi’s house.

Fluttering overhead Suzi examines her handy work. Needs something else… Tapping her chin, her face lights up as an idea hits her. Grappling her pixie dust she flies overhead and starts to spread the sparkly mixture over her snowmen, being careful not to drop the new bag Heidi gave her for Christmas. Now her snowmen could move!! So separating them in two teams she decides a snowball fight would be great fun. So with a well worded order hundreds of snowballs went flying through the air, back and forth, ever which way.

Crash!!

Uh oh broken glass! Looking over at Heidi’s bedroom window there appears to be a snowball sized hole. “Oh boy… And Heidi is still sleeping.” Fluttering over to the hole in the glass Suzi looking over at the bed and gulps. Splattered all over Heidi’s head is one of the runaway snowballs.

“Oh jeez.” fluttering through the large hole in the window Suzi flutters hesitantly over to Heidi but making sure she not within arms reach. “Um.. Good morning Heidi. Funny story about the snowball…” The noise from the snowball fight was getting really loud and Suzi found it necessary to yell in order to be heard. “Funny story about the snowmen as well” ok Heidi!! All you if you’d like to play!!

The sand is warm between my toes, a wonderful sensation after days of cold and wet the winter has dumped on us. Lying back in my lounge chair, I closed my eyes to soak up the suns warms rays. Just as I was about to drift off in heated bliss, a huge wave crashed thunderously over me, dousing me with ice cold water. As I sputtered and cough the thundering and crashing continued all around me.

“What the hell?”

Suddenly I realized that I was not on a white sand beach somewhere the sun beat down in heated wonder, but in my room, in my bed, soaking wet with what sounded like a war outside my bedroom window, which was broken, and something small and sparkling and yelling fluttering above me.

Suzie…

Narrowing my eyes at the pixie I asked a question I probably did not want the answer to. “Suzi? Why am I wet?”

“Well… There’s a snowball melting on your head.” Suzi giggled. Covering her mouth she said, “Sorry, but you look kinda funny”

Knowing I was going to regret asking, I sighed, “Why is there a snowball melting on my,” I wiped my face slowly with my hand, “head?” The noise outside grew louder. I frowned at the broken window. “And what is all that racket?”

Climbing out of bed, I slipped and slid over to the window to see hundreds of snowmen having a snowball fight. Ducking I barely missed being hit by another snowball. “Oh dear lord.”

The noise level was going up to deafening levels so Suzy gestured one minute and took her wand out. Intending to get a rid of the snowmen as quickly as possible she waved her wand, letting out a stream of green light. Only problem was it was the wrong color light for what she needed. And instead of melting the snowmen she inadvertently created one big giant snowball.. And it was heading right for them at ever increasing speed!

“Aww shoot! Take cover!” Suzi yelled and tried to duck under the bed but not in time. The massive snowball crashed through the wall taking Suzy with it. Around and round she rolled. “Help…help!”

Looking up from where I had dove for cover, I followed the carnage the gigantic snowball had left behind to see it rolling away with Suzi trapped in it’s icy grip. As dangerous as the situation was, I had to stifle a laugh as every with every rotation Suzi would appear, plastered spread eagle in the snow yelling “Help!” then just as suddenly disappear.

After the huge snowball crashed thru the far wall it came to an abrupt halt against the large tree that seems to put a stop to several of Suzi’s mishaps.

Quickly and carefully climbing over the wreckage, I stopped in front of the pixie who was still stuck fast in the snow. “Are you all right?” I reached down and pried her out, setting her on her feet, trying to not smile as she tried to catch her bearings.

Looking up at Heidi Suzi shook the snow off her wings. “Thank you,” she whispered. Looking back at the house a day the damage she once again accidentally caused. “Sorry for the mess.. I’ll get to fixing it right away.”

“I’ll help. While it isn’t exactly the best way to wake up in the morning, it was to say the least…entertaining,” I chuckled.

The End!!

Another Suzie the Pixie escapade. Like all of Suzie’s stories, what happens is not rehearsed and the only editing I do when I post it here is some formatting and maybe a few spelling errors that get past me and Suz. It is all done on Twitter and is spontaneous. So we can’t really say when the next excerpt will happen. Follow us at either @HeidiBarnes11 or @wlhealer7 to find out. You can also follow Suz here on WordPress at Suzanne Carey.

A Suzi Christmas – Pixie Adventures

On December 22, 2015December 22, 2015 By HeidiIn Creative Writing, Flash Fiction5 Comments

“Christmas time!” Sang Suzy!! “Can’t wait to visit Heidi and give her her presents!”

She changes into her new female Santa suit, a velvet red dress with white fuzzy stuff around the bottom of the short skirt and the wrists of the sleeves. And of course the red hat! Slinging her green sack over her shoulder she decides to go down the chimney. Bad idea! Not able to see, she kept bouncing off the soot covered bricks and landed with a thud on her tiny little behind with a poof of ash.

“Oh jeez!”

Stepping out of the fireplace she flutter her wings and leaves a cloud of ash all over the white rug. Before she had a chance to look at the mess she made she spotted the tree.

“Oooooo! Shiny!!”

Fluttering around the tree, Suzi ooo’s and aaahs! Going into shiny overload she flys closer to the tree, forgetting she still had her sack in her hand. As she turns to look at yet another sparkly ornament her bag gets stuck in the string of lights and she can’t move. Giving the bag a tug it wasn’t moving so with both her hands and grabs the bag pulling with all her might. Unfortunately the line of lights are on pretty tightly and the tree starts to lose balance.

“Oh no!!”

Suzi flew out of the way just in time to prevent being crushed by the tree as it came crashing down. Ornaments breaking, bulbs popping and the tree started to smoke. Little flames starting breaking out all over and Suzy felt a bit of panic set in.

“Heidi is going to kill me!”

Not knowing what else to do she conjures up a thunder clouds and makes it pour rain. Problem here is Suzy is still working on her controlling nature skills and the rain cloud that was just supposed the cover the tree covered the whole LR instead. Not only was there rain but there was lightning as well. Um.. Well at least the tree is no longer on fire. Realizing she is in big trouble Suzie flutters back into the fireplace and sits and waits for Heidi to come home…

In the kitchen, I quietly hum as I put together my favorite soup to ward off the chill. Thinking a fire would be nice, I start to taste the soup I freeze when I hear a resounding crash coming from deeper in the house. Frowning, I wonder what the cat got into when I smell smoke. Closing my eyes with a groan, hoping that I am wrong, I turn the soup down and quietly walk to the LR, taste the soup I freeze when I hear a resounding crash coming from deeper in the house. Frowning, I wonder what the cat got into when I smell smoke. Closing my eyes with a groan, hoping that I am wrong, I turn the soup down and quietly walk to the LR, silently praying I am wrong. Before I reach the doorway, water races towards me not unlike the waves on a lake shore. “What in the world?” There is a clap of what sounds like thunder inside the house. Now really worried I hurry forward and freeze in the doorway. Eyes wide in disbelief, jaw on the floor, I looked around at the destruction before me. Everything is completely drenched. The tree is on it’s side smoldering. Broken glass of different colors litter the floor.

“What in the name of…” Then I see a dejected drooping black figure huddled near the fireplace. “Suzi?”

I start into the room only to be stopped by a lighting bolt hitting at my feet. Glaring at the black clouds swirling in the ceiling, I banish the with a wave of my hand. Hurrying over to the Pixie I kneel down in front of her.

“Are you all right?”

“Oh.. Hi Heidi. Downcast eyes she glances up between her eyelashes. “Um… I ya…” Starting to speak rapidly she tries to explain. But it’s not making much sense. “I’m really sorry.” Handing Heidi her little green sack, “I have presents!! “Merry Christmas Heidi!! I guess I made a bit of a mess, but I’ll clean it up right now!! Ok?”

Pulling out her wand Suzy soon has the mess cleaned up. But feeling bad she decides to help get the car out of the LR. Wanting to see if it starts she waves her wand again and it starts right up. In her excitement she flicked her wand and.. CRASH!! The car drives through the LR and stops up against the big tree in the front yard. Hmmm. Good thing it’s sunny out!

This short Christmas story was originally on Twitter under @wlhealer7 and . I copy and pasted it to here with only minor editing. Because Twitter only allows a certain amount of characters, sometimes things like punctuation gets left out. If you want to see more of Suzanne’s stories, which I highly recommend, go to her website Suzanne Carey.

You never know when Suzi the Pixie will show up, so stay tune so stay tune!

UPDATE: I should also mention that this is completely unscripted. What you see is written on the fly and then posted,.

To See What I See

Tag: Suzi