DEV>Waraba Nasib

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For second 2018 prompt: A futuristic story set in a non-western culture fav.me/dcgirud

Word count: 1,037

Inspired by Harar’s fascinating symbiotic relationship with the spotted hyena. I don’t think there is any other place on earth where dangerous animals have been integrated so smoothly into urban life.

She'll Just go to Sleep“She’ll just go to sleep.”
“I don’t know, Myra…”
“Remember the dog? No fuss, just lay down and went to sleep. Only took a few minutes.”
“I don’t think I can do this. My nerves are shot to pieces.”
“Perfect. Be hysterical. You gotta give them what they expect.”
“But what if it looks fake?”
“Come on, you got this. You’ve been complaining about going for days with no sleep. You had to park way out in the sticks and walk that heat in zombie mode. People want patterns, neat tidy explanations. It really is a brilliant idea. Wish I’d come up with it.”
“Thanks. You’re right. I shouldn’t be so worried. It happens all the time.”
“Exactly! Sure it’ll get hot for a while, but it’s not like they’re gonna charge you with murder. They aren’t mind readers.” Seymore's SendoffJames Seymore
is no more.
His poor
soul stepped out the door,
what’s left a feast for beasts galore.
Haunting howl,
the greedy growl,
they stop to shop at his store.
Seymore sought reincarnation.
Adopted by hyena nation,
his essence in new eyes mother adores. Just RightSomething was off about the Woods that morning. Papa Bear couldn’t define it, but the feeling lifted hairs on his back while he suggested the family cut their pre-breakfast walk short. The feeling solidified when they found the front door open. He poked his head inside the cabin and huffed in the intruder’s scent. A human female, young and injured. As he took in the last detail he noticed spots of blood leading to the kitchen.
Mama picked up Baby and held him tight. The scent of her fear pricked those hairs on Papa’s back as high as they could go under his shirt. He knew she was thinking the same thing. An injured human cub, in their house. Were the parents tracking it? Few things were more dangerous than a human who believed you were a threat to its cubs. Even unrelated cubs drew this ferocity from them. It hadn’t been a year passed since Big Bad Wolf found that out the hard way. Mama still made pies for Papa to drop off at the widow’s house on his way to The King and the GhoulExcerpt from the Travel Journal of Dr. Babitunji, Chief Magician of King Sulakhan: Collected by T. P. Hade of the Nonhuman Cultural Illumination Project
Author’s Note: In 461BK, during the second year of his reign, King Sulakhan toured the outer reaches of the Saaraiah Desert to offer gifts to his citizens and learn more about his kingdom. This occurred in the town of Basieruz, now a popular tourist destination.
We did not tame magic with our intellect. The natural world perfected its use long before we attempted to define it with our convoluted theories. – King Sulakhan
The Head Man prostrated himself before us. Without waiting for permission to speak he told of the woes which had befallen the village. On every tenth day at noon an Ifrit would appear in the marketplace and demand money, food and drink, or women. If the spirit’s master was not satisfied with the previous offering a citizen would be taken at random, never to be seen again. As tomorrow was Lizzie's Nightmare“Another raccoon?”
Jim popped up in bed, sleep shattered by the furious barking and his wife’s exclamation. This was getting ridiculous.
Amberlee bit her lip as she looked at the bedroom door. “Ohh, I hope this isn’t like last time.”
Jim grabbed his glasses and lurched to his feet. “Lizzie! Leave it!”
More barking. Jim lurched out of the bedroom, heading for the kitchen.
The grim events of the past weeks replayed themselves. Raccoon number one made it a few feet from the cat flap, presumably drawn in by the scent of the pet’s food bowls. Lizzie chased it on top of the kitchen cabinets. The thing screeched like a demon and wouldn’t budge even after he’d dragged Lizzie away and given it a chance to leave in peace. A wildlife rescuer captured it and released it far away, so that it could eventually become someone else’s problem. Raccoon number two didn’t reach the cabinets. Amberlee couldn’t stand t HyperesthesiaShe’s not a princess, but her brain thinks she is. It feels peas everywhere. Peas in her cloths, her ears, her head. Prince not included.

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