“The Children of the Forest”
by Michael M. Jones
In the Brambles, it’s always October. A full moon hangs orange and bloated in a cloud-streaked night sky, dry leaves crunch underfoot, and the encroaching nip of winter competes with bonfire smoke in the air. Two Faerie queens lay claim to this odd little patch of land between the Autumn and Winter realms, but the Brambles swears allegiance to no one save its own master, the Wicker King.
The Brambles is a place of tricks and treats, shadows and secrets, death and rebirth. It’s the jump-scare, the nervous laughter, the stolen kiss. This is where the monster under the bed retreats in the daytime, where the things which go bump in the night go to lift a drink and trade boasts. It’s where sex and fear walk hand-in-hand, accompanied by their spectral children and unspoken wishes.
Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: The Children of the Forest by Michael M. Jones
