What happened to her hair?!

A Paranormal Fantasy Flash Fiction Story.

I’m deviating from what you voted for in Crazy Cat Lady to share a story that was prompted by some cool artwork by

Meaghan McIsaac

and encouragement from

Scoot

. We were talking on NOTES how the girl seemed annoyed, and the reason was her hair changed color with the seasons. I said I should write a story around that. Scoot was enthusiastic about the idea. I feared he might hunt me down if I didn’t follow through. I promise, you will get the story you voted for.

Edited to add: I wrote this in August, so imagine it’s August when reading and there’s still a month left until Fall.

CHANGE OF THE SEASONS

A Paranormal Fantasy Flash Fiction Story.

Artwork by Meaghan McIsaac

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Horror rocked Alyssa when she saw her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She let out a strangled squeak.

What happened to her hair?!

She grabbed a wavy lock and pulled it so she could see with her own eyes. “No, no, no, no! It’s too soon for this. Why is it changing?”

Among the brilliant yellow were streaks of orange and red. It seemed to spread across her scalp before her very eyes.

Alyssa whirled around and raced through her apartment. She dug out a small calendar from under a mass of paperwork on her desk. She flipped through the pages until she found the date. September 23^rd. There was a month of summer left. Why was her hair changing color?

A child of nature, Alyssa’s hair shifted with the seasons. For spring, it was a mixture of greens that grew more vibrant with each day. During the summer it was yellow like the sun. In the fall, it was a mixture of oranges and reds. And for winter, it was brown, almost as if she were hibernating with the trees.

But it was still summer. Not fall!

Alyssa wrung her hands. What did it mean? Was it a sign? Her mind skipped from one disaster to the next.

“Calm down,” she scolded herself. “The weather has been weird this year, and I’ve been feeling off. That’s all it is. Not a sign of the apocalypse.”

A few breaths helped to calm her nerves. She went about her day, not giving her hair another thought.

By dinner time, she felt stupid for panicking. Fall was her favorite time of the year. She loved how her hair mimicked the leaves. Why not enjoy having the colors longer before it changed to boring brown?

Yes, that is what she would do.

Grabbing her keys, Alyssa left to have dinner with her parents. A grin twitched her lips as she imagined the surprise on their faces when they saw her hair. She knocked and stepped back to wait.

Her mother answered, but instead of surprise, her skin turned white, and her eyes bulged. She hauled Alyssa inside, yelling, “Lawrence. It’s happening.”

Knots twisted through Alyssa’s stomach as her father bolted to them. His mouth dropped open when he saw her. Sweat broke across his forehead. She gawked at her parents, afraid to speak louder than a whisper, “What’s going on? What’s happening to me? What does this mean?”

Alyssa’s mother held out a lock of her hair to see. It was brown. Brittle. Her mother said one word.

I’ll leave this up to you. What word did she say?

DO YOU WANT TO READ MORE?

Because A QUICK SPELL is a collection of 200-word fantasy and science fiction stories about fantasy, gods, and magic! It’s perfect if you’re looking to squeeze some reading into your busy day!

My next email will drop into your inbox on October 13th. Keep your eyes peeled because I’m sharing the Michigan mystery YOU voted for. (And yes, it will be what you asked for!)

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Thank you for reading.

Until next time, stay creative!

~Patricia J.L.