Fall Writing Frenzy! "Encore" written by S. K. Wenger

It's time for the Fall Writing Frenzy hosted by the amazing team led by literary agent/author Kaitlyn Sanchez, literary agent Ameerah Holliday, and author Lydia Lukidis, and I'm joining the fun by sharing a story that was inspired by the shadow in the background of this photo. If you'd like to check out more information about the contest, see the links for Kaitlyn and Lydia above.  

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you enjoy my dip into the Halloween season!

Halloween- Credit: Matthew Henry / Burst

Encore

by

S. K. Wenger © 2021

Word count: 199

    The show was set to begin.

    “Eardrum-splitter?” 

        “Check.”

    “Tom-tom tapper?” 

        “Check. Check.”

    “Stringed-wood plucker?” 

        “Check. Check. Check!”

    “All systems, ready to go.”

    But no one noticed the shadow.

    Seeping like an ink stain, the ominous mass oozed from the headstone in the backdrop and inched bit by bit across the floor until what was left of a wicked old witch—the Wicked Old Witch—filled center stage. Her mouth gaped in neither scream nor song.

    Gone, the green skin.

    Missing, the sharp nose.

    Absent, the stringy hair. 

    But her laugh had not taken leave.

    Sharp as a raven’s call, her cackle blasted the bones of the band and bombarded the audience like a torrent of bat wings. As the onlookers and skeleton crew cowered, Miss Wicked arched back and roared, “All aboard!” then rolled into some song about a crazy train—all the while holding a broomstick.

    “Ay, ay, ay, ay! …

    “Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!”

    Note by noisy note, the band joined in. 

    At the end of the show the Wicked Witch and her teetering team of music makers soaked up cries for an encore.

    “Are you wind-wheezers ready?”

        “Check!”

    "Then let's take it away!"

    Poof!