Her every step through the forest filled the air with ghosts.

And that wraps up flashfictober for this year!

Every time she approached the devil’s bridge, her footsteps slowed and she lingered, looking down at her reflection in the flat, still water. She would wait for the space of three breaths, though she wasn’t sure what for.

One day, her reflection was waiting for her.

*Not sure what this is all about? More details about flashfictober here.

She placed the berry between her teeth, applying just enough pressure to break the skin, tart juice tingling her tongue. Then she dropped the small red fruit into the bowl. “One for the water.”

*Not sure what this is all about? More details about flashfictober here.

Kata clutched the heart in her hands, blood oozing warm and thick between her fingers. She wanted to put it back. She would give anything to put it back. But some things were almost impossible to undo. Almost.

*Not sure what this is all about? More details about flashfictober here.

“I just want to make sure you really understand what you’re getting,” Mills said, sliding the wooden box onto the table. It looked like a miniature coffin, and he suppressed a shudder.

*Not sure what this is all about? More details about flashfictober here.

When she returned to the tree the next day, instead of plums, its branches were laden with gorgeous gold and blush peaches.

*Not sure what this is all about? More details about flashfictober here.

Sel looked up at the night sky, where she had been for so long, and where she couldn’t return to. At least, not until she killed the moon.

*Not sure what this is all about? More details about flashfictober here.

She touched her fingertip to the metal box and could suddenly see him. A man hunched over a desk, blunt fingers holding a tiny figurine. He dipped the smallest brush into a pot of blue paint.

*Not sure what this is all about? More details about flashfictober here.

The wishes ground to shards, to dust between her molars. Each mouthful was like eating glass. It hurt to consume them, but the possibility of loss hurt even more.

*Not sure what this is all about? More details about flashfictober here.

Alie carefully dabbed glue onto the stem of the peach before pressing it against the tree branch and holding it for a ten count. This was, at least, the most possible of the impossible tasks she had been set.

*Not sure what this is all about? More details about flashfictober here.