Little Cruelties

“Oh!” Kassie exclaims, her trowel half-buried in warmth, “Mx. Squirmy Wormy! I didn’t realize you were here!” The worm bleeds, not especially politely, as Kassie pulls her trowel back out. Its bifurcated halves squirm; its eyes brim with pain. “There’s no need to be rude, Mx. Wormy!” Kassie lowers her voice, eyes flicking across the variegated heap. She’s pretty sure none of the others can see her; all she can see of them is wingtips blazing with light. “It was an honest mistake.” ...

It is understood that ⸤distillation⸣ is a process by which ⸤slimes⸣ maybe be both concentrated and made more amenable to their ⸤purposes⸣. However, this process does not reduce their ⸤curative properties⸣ when applied to a ⸤garden’s components⸣. Through the application of a ⸤purpose-made object⸣ to a fully ⸤distilled slime⸣ a form of thread may be produced with minimal cost to the surrounding ⸤garden⸣. Such thread is suitable for lacing through any ⸤damaged components⸣, and noticeably prolongs their ⸤life⸣. ...

“Why!” (slam) “won’t!” (slam) “you!” (slam) “die!” She brings the window down on your neck again and again, each impact sending fresh cracks shooting through your body’s smooth glass, reopening the old ones you had so laboriously sealed earlier in the day. A passerby glances at you, curious about the noise; you do your best to smile back, to ward off his attention. It’s easy enough not to wince, to play this off as just some game. ...

A ⸤garden⸣ was once a place with plants and paths, ordered according to forgotten aesthetic principles. It was generally understood to be undesirable for the garden’s ⸤components⸣ to retain their eyes, so as not to unsettle visitors and to provide them with drinks. The drinks offered by paths were typically rich and metallic, sometimes fortified with ⸤powdered calcium⸣. Those presented by plants were delicate and floral, full of tender salt and spice. They were considered more intimate, and needed to be replanted more frequently. ...