Good evening, frightful friends and ghastly ghouls. Today, I have the peculiar pleasure of presenting a tale that’s sure to tingle your spine and tickle your funny bone. So, dim the lights, settle into your coffin—err, I mean couch—and prepare for a story that’s out of this world. It’s a narrative so nifty, you’ll be floating in the void of laughter and terror. Without further ado, let’s turn the page on the mundane and delve into the extraordinary adventure of Captain Zephyr in… “The Librarian of Xylotheque!”
The Human Condition – Flash Fiction
In the cosmic expanse where stars are but distant streetlights, Captain Zephyr’s ship, the S.S. Sarcasm, glided towards the enigmatic planet Xylotheque. The planet, a giant library of alien lore, was as silent as a mime’s monologue.
“Welcome to Xylotheque, where the books read you,” Zephyr quipped, stepping out in his space suit, which was less NASA and more ‘thrift store chic.’
Before him stood an alien with more tentacles than a seafood platter. “Greetings, Earthling. I am the Librarian,” it squelched, its voice a mix of a didgeridoo and nails on a chalkboard.
Zephyr, unfazed, retorted, “Nice to meet you, Libby. Got anything light? Maybe ‘My Life as a Space Squid’?”
The Librarian led Zephyr through shelves that stretched into infinity, past tomes that whispered secrets and scrolls that giggled at their own ancient jokes.
“Here,” the Librarian gestured to a book titled ‘The Human Condition.’ “This is your story.”
Zephyr opened the book, and to his astonishment, the pages began to write themselves, narrating his life in real-time. “Well, that’s one way to save on a diary,” he chuckled.
As they delved deeper into the library, Zephyr encountered a mirror that showed not his reflection but his potential. “Is this some kind of joke?” he asked.
“No joke,” the Librarian replied. “This is where you see what you could become.”
The twist came when Zephyr realized the Librarian was not an alien but a future version of himself, transformed by knowledge and time. “I am you, and you will become me,” it declared.
In a universe where laughter was the currency of wisdom, Zephyr understood that the greatest journey was not through space but through the pages of one’s own story, a tale that was still being written with each breath and each chuckle.
And so, our hero set forth, not with a spaceship, but with a library card, ready to check out the next grand adventure.
Flash fiction work was written by Willy Martinez for Mind on Fire Books.
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