Congratulations to everyone!!! If you missed any of the stories, go read them here. Done? Yay! Now you get to read what the judge had to say:
What a roller coaster of reading delight! Who would have
thought that getting a man to cook for a woman would have been the cause of so
much death, destruction and disaster? And here I thought I’d get a few funny
foodie stories! So, while lying on a West Atlantic beach in France, with giant
breakers rolling in, I read, and reread all your extremely diverse stories with
much amusement!
“Inheritance” by Madilyn Quinn (@madilynquinn)
In this fairy tale/ Alice in Wonderland gone terribly wrong,
the handsome but poor Queen’s trusted food taster thinks he has caught the
Princess’s heart. But has he? I liked the spade being the garden instrument
introduced (Queen of Spades/Hearts?) Nice touch!
“Freedom from Food” by Amberlee Dawn (@talithaarise)
This was the closest perhaps to what I guessed might happen
- where some very interesting recipes came up - maybe I’ll even give them a try
myself! The ‘chestnut & sumac stuffing’ sounds delectable while the ‘wild
carrot and kohlrabi au gratin was stronger than titanium’ had me giggling, as
did some of the other descriptions. I was happy that our heroine could end her
days of drudgery working in the ‘white dungeon’ but am still wondering - will
Tom ever recover from his surgery, (and from tasting her experiments?).
No Title, by Dr. Magoo (@drmagoo)
This was a creepy story, which reminded me of the standoff
at Masada, or much more horrible, various death pacts that some loopy groups
have made in the past. Short and not sweet, this piece succeeds in sending a
chill up my spine, for sure! In Dutch there is only one word to describe this
piece, and that is ‘gezellig’ - for those who don’t know it - try Google.
“Choices", by Charles W Short (@CharlesWShort)
This was a really serious and tragic story, of a man who
loves a woman and wants to share her faith, but needs to decide whether to save
himself or die with her. I’m not sure sure how much this is a Flash Fiction
story, or a fatalistic account of what the future may actually become.
Frighteningly close to one potential reality!
Special Challenge Runner Up:
“Usually the Arsenic Works” by Patrick Stahl (@patrickstahl)
The title itself was a dead giveaway that this was going to
be a fun read, and so it was. The imaginative and lively fighting scenes
between Jim, Nash and Sal versus Molly, kept me riveted - despite the ever
changing point of view (necessary due to circumstances)! (Could this turn into
Kill Bill 3?) I too might have tried the arsenic, but now I know what works if
I ever need to defeat a she-devil!
“Persimmon Pie” by Ophelia Leong (@OpheliaLeong)
Years ago, I wrote a poem called Persimmon Dream, and
connected Persimmons to Persephone’s fate. In Persimmon Pie, a delightful tale
is spun, which seems innocent enough, where the heroine, Abigail, helps her
neighbor learn how to bake a pie for his mother. However, under the surface,
there is more. She "moved slowly like a praying mantis…(or a cobra?)…
hoping to keep his gaze on her."
She feeds on his innocence like Hades of the underworld,
adding strange ingredients to these pies so he will keep coming back,
steepening his learning curve, rather than easing the path for him. All a part
of her very suggestive plan!
“What’s for dinner” by ParkInkSpot (Dave) (@parkInkSpot)
I had to draw the Wendigo while I was reading this story for
the 3rd time, and it did come out scary indeed. I can imagine why Dave has
nightmares about this (by the way, Dave, is this about you?!) And while I’m
asking - did you actually mean ‘usual’ or ‘unusual’ in the second sentence?
Each of these would turn the story in a whole different direction! In any case,
this very realistic story of a therapist convincing her client that by eating
some human flesh she can disprove his Wendigo psychosis and thus cure him turns
out to be quite a nasty little trick - but on whom?! And this niggling little
question is why I just have to award Dave the Grand Champion award, even though
I don’t think there’s a garden tool here, is there? Still, it’s a story to be
read, and reread!
Thank you so much! :) I really enjoyed it and can't wait for next week!
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