And I, an old citizen of Elvenbloom, a village ruled by two irascible warlocks named Jack and not-Jack, its citizens composed of those who work magic and those worked upon, the morning air misted with spells of transformation, boy bewitched into cabbage, girl into swine, and dusk lit by counter-spells of restoration, though not always complete (boy retains green ears, girl grunts), parents of an unruly child hoping for a changeling, the market folk purveying everything from birth charms to deadly relics and supernatural fava beans, the blacksmith and baker at times aided by blue and green fairies, at other times frustrated by trolls, the town well inhabited by a frog prince who croons “Kiss me!” with no takers, the local school presided over by a witch who has punished bad students with a hundred years of detention, the public library loaning out grimoires and thaumaturgy treatises, the annual Festival of Mirth with its forced cachinnation, the doctor with the devil knows what in his bag, the lawyer who speaks with a serpent’s tongue, the therapist offering necromancy sessions for dissatisfied couples, youth lying entwined on the village green in summer while experiencing the enchantment of youth, the pharmacy advertising a drastic sale on love potions, talking cats roaming the streets though without much to say for themselves, dogs who are just dogs, the town not far from the Lair of Oom, where the dragons noisily mate every spring, the moiety of us all too often bewitched, bothered, and bewildered—I long for a municipality with a just and equitable system of government, a democracy in harmony, presided over by elected officials and a board of impartial judges with no hint of invisibility—but that, I know, is a magic wish that will never come to pass.
David Galef has published a dozen books, including My Date with Neanderthal Woman (Dzanc Short Story Prize) and How to Cope with Suburban Stress (Kirkus Best Books of 2006). His latest is Brevity: A Flash Fiction Handbook, from Columbia University Press. He’s also the editor in chief at Vestal Review.
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