An old joke turned into a Sorceress’ Tale.
Please excuse the sorceresstically playful playgiarism, but I couldn’t help it.
I was spellbound… like being taken prisoner by Mel Brooks in Young Frankenstein
Picture It and Write from ermiliablog@wordpress
Write fiction or a poem to accompany the image or anything you wish to write about.
The picture prompt for this week is below:
reprinted from ermiliablog – pic by Jeffrey Smith
The Sorceresses of Point Nowhere
Janessa had spent two days tracking Glenda. She had been to all of Glenda’s old haunts, and then it dawned on her that she would obviously retreat to the lighthouse. It was her all time favorite place.
She had known Glenda many years ago. They had been competitors, vying for the recognition of being accepted as best sorceress in Point Nowhere. It was obvious to Janessa that she was the better of the two, however she did not want to compete once she realized the dangerous levels that Glenda was willing to take the competition to. Janessa decided to change her identity, and she moved to a different county, far away from Point Nowhere. She knew that Glenda would have difficulties with accepting her leaving, without her truly feeling that she had bested Janessa and clearly claim the fictitious title. However, after so many years, she did not believe that Glenda would ever return to cause her any trouble.
As time went by, Janessa married a very nice man by the name of Franklin. She never told Franklin of her past. He was a kind and gentle soul. Although Janessa knew that he would have accepted her for who she was, she felt that she was not bound by her old identity, and so there was really no need to involve him in her history of sorcery.
Until now.
She had heard from the people in town that a very beautiful woman, a seductress, had struck up a conversation with Franklin. Townspeople had told her that Franklin had left with her. Janessa knew that this was obviously not true. Franklin was capable of striking up a conversation with any new person in town, male or female, because of his personable nature, but he was not capable of leaving with another woman.
She knew exactly who had taken him away; it was Glenda acting like a female version of the Pied Piper.
And so here she was, exactly where Glenda wanted her – standing in front of Glenda’s favorite abode, the Lighthouse of Point Nowhere. She stood on the path that led to the lighthouse, feeling the spray of the salt waters crashing up from the jagged edges of the rocks. Janessa focused all her attention on a mental image of Glenda, who she knew would be watching her from the top of the lighthouse as she approached. She sent her this psychic message:
You are, and always will be, the best sorceress of Point Nowhere.
The light in the lighthouse flashed on. And there, with his hands outstretched against the glass, Janessa could see Franklin’s frightened face.
Janessa then cried out in a voice that shook the bricks of the lighthouse, as if the entire building was trembling in fear; and which Glenda would translate into human words frighteningly emanating from the earthquake-style clattering of those very bricks. One single sentence would emerge and would terrify Glenda’s very being, tear into her soul, and which she would understand as:
Release my husband and I will not harm you!
And within the flash of a sorceress’ nod, Franklin appeared unharmed next to Janessa. Her relief at seeing Franklin released and standing next to her, was exquisite. She quickly kissed him, and frantically asked him if he was all right. Franklin said that he was. He turned and said to Janessa that they should leave quickly before anything worse happened.
Janessa said to Franklin there was one more thing that had to be settled immediately with Glenda or there would be no rest.
And at this point Janessa reverted to her human voice, cupped her hands around her lips, yelling up to the dark image of the woman looking out from that circular glass at the tip of the tower with that sweeping light revolving behind her:
He had a God damned hat!
********************************************************************************************************
… and when the boo’s die down, and the ghosts leave town,
the sorceresses will have the last laugh, and will pass the hat!
Randy Mazie
(with kindred and warm and special thoughts of and for Annie Schilde)
The Writer's Village 
Good one! Some nice descriptions!
Thank you, Joe.
Randy
Oh how fun to find my name at the bottom, Randy! I love the Young Frankenstein mood you set at the beginning. Haha, I could hear her husband saying, “That’s Fronk-lin.” I don’t know if you saw Oz the Great and Powerful, but you reminded me a bit of that too, maybe more so because of the name Glenda, but you know, the fighting sisters. These darn husbands wandering off like rats to the allure of a spell here or there. What are we to do with them!
Can’t live with them, can’t shoot them. Steven Wright
[scratches head for a bit] Wouldn’t that sort of by definition mean they weren’t husbands?
[scratches butt] I don’t know, Annie. But while you’re in the kitchen, bring me back a cold one, would ya?
[fifteen minutes later] “Hey, where’s that cold one?”
[walks in with the can, already cracked open.] “Here ya go.”
[takes can] “Hey, what’s the idea? It’s empty!”
“Sure it is. I figured you’re too lazy to fetch the damn thing, you’re too lazy to drink it.”
Gollie, Annie. You’re the best! You know me like an empty book.
You write as if it just flows so easily…whatever the story or genre. Cute ending. Am glad Franklin was safe!
Thanks Maggie.
For the most part, it does just flow out of me. I am lucky like that most days. I do a little cleaning up, a change here and there, let it sit a little – come back and then it’s done. The real work is staring at the picture and letting things flow though my mind.
This one was absolutely new to me in writing about sorcery. Not my usual at all. But it was easier knowing I was leading up to a punch line – which I am comfortable with. Randy
Great build up of tension in this. That ending was unforeseen, but a lot of fun.
It had an ending?
Well no, but this snippet did, sort of. I admit it remains to be known whether Glenda returns Franklin’s hat.
really cool one – loved this piece: “acting like a female version of the Pied Piper”
wonderful imagery… the last line is awesome!
Thank you, and thank you for commenting.
By any chance, have you seen Franklin’s hat?
heh, unfortunately not… will keep looking though 😉
A funny ending. Oh Franklin… How can he be so easily tricked? You’d think being married to a sorceress would teach him a thing or two! Thanks for contributing this week, Randy!
– Ermisenda
See, even being married to a sorceress doesn’t give you a leg up on the competition.
You can still wind up in a tower of trouble.
Well, the hat might be the source of Janessa’s magic. Is that why she reverts to the human voice? Nice story-telling here. ‘She had heard from the people in the town that had a very beautiful woman..’ The second ‘had’ should be removed, right?
Good eyes! Thanks. Removed.
Interesting thought that the hat might be the source of her magic – I was simply giving her a human side after all that, by having her yell up in a very common manner – sort of, I want all of him, you b-tch! And besides, that was the punchline after all, wasn’t it.