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The Casket of Fictional Delights

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Fires of Autumn

by Fanni Suto

Flash Fiction Poignant, Reflective

Phoebe loves the smell of autumn; the dying sweetness of overripe fruits and the crispiness of fallen leaves. She stands on the terrace, barefoot, the marble silky cold under her soles. The sun is setting behind the mountains, bathing the landscape in light. Below the terrace, the garden seems ablaze, pebbles burning white and the koi in the pond flashing like embers.

It is a perfect moment for parting: The sun bidding farewell to the day, nature waving goodbye to the summer. The girl shakes her head; she doesn’t want to think about it yet. She is wearing a crimson kimono embroidered with old gold leaves, the silk embracing her graceful body. She seems more like a painting than a real person.

Phoebe likes the life she has built herself here. But the moments of her fragile peace are numbered. Death is in the air. It comes with the smell of funeral pyres on the back of the evening wind. It arrives in the bitter taste of almond, a memory of Phoebe’s last meal, and in the thunder of heavy boots. The mages of the Emperor are close. Phoebe can feel their greedy breath on her skin. They will cage her, tear her apart.  Dissect her again and again. They will never understand her, the flame burning in her heart.

Soldiers and mages swarm the terrace. But before they can get close, Phoebe drops her kimono. The men freeze. In one moment they see the girl’s alabaster skin, in the next they see only flames.  As the fire dies down, the men can glimpse the last phoenix as she flies towards her freedom.

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About Fanni Suto

Fanni is a writer in her mid-twenties. She writes in Hungarian and English; poems, flash fiction and countless unfinished novels. She tries to find the magical in the everyday and likes to spy on the secret life of cities and their inhabitants.
Visit Fanni Suto on the web

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Everyone at The Casket is hoping 2021 will be a better year than 2020.  We have some great short stories and flash fiction lined up for your delight.  We kick of the year with a story by Lydia Unsworth “The Smallest Boxes” and then for Valentine's we have a story by Dylan Brethour which will also be available as a podcast. Later in the summer we have a new Flash Fiction Summer Collection which will be published online and as podcasts read by Menna Bonsels and Richard Hodder.  We hope you enjoy the stories we have for you and look forward to welcoming you back regularly.

Joanna & The Casket of Fictional Delights Team

 

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Please consider making a donation to The Casket of Fictional Delights.  All content on the website is free and widely available to audiences worldwide.  We do not receive any grants and all our content is Ad free.  The Casket of Fictional Delights specialises in producing high-quality podcasts which are recorded by professional actors/voiceover artists from around the world. We hope you enjoy reading and listening to the stories and finding out about Joanna’s varied brooch collection.

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Prefer to listen? - from the beginning The Casket of Fictional Delights has specialised in producing high quality podcasts of short stories and flash fiction compilations. The podcasts are recorded by actors and voiceover artists and produced by a professional studio manager ensuring we maintain a consistent high standard. I’ve chosen three to highlight the variety and quality of work we have to offer - visit our Podcast page for more. I hope you enjoy listening to them.

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Text & stories © Joanna Sterling 2021
Stories © various authors
Audio by Menna Bonsels
Brooch photography by Mark Colliton
Other photography by Rosie Marks
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