Published this month at Bethlehem Writer’s Roundtable

Earning an Honorable Mention in the Bethlehem Writer’s Roundtable 2021 Short Story contest, this fable is part of the back story for the fantasy trilogy I’m writing.
Written during NaNoWriMo 2020, I’d not considered publishing it until the trilogy was completed. I changed my mind when the call came out for a short story with “an element of mystery” and final judging to be done by Charlaine Harris.
Harris is known for mysteries, yes, but also for fantasy. I pulled out “Nanoni and shish-Ka-toomi,” made my final tweaks, submitted, and waited.
Thrilled to learn that it won Honorable Mention, I’ve been waiting for January 2022 to see it in print.
Now it’s here, alongside a photo one of my paintings, converted to black and white, that I believe conveys the story’s One Spring.