I’ve been working on some short stories to get through some writers block. Enjoy
Old Mavis, the hedge witch, had lived in her cottage at the edge of the forest for as long as anyone could remember. She knew the ways of herbs, potions, and spells—except for one thing: WiFi. Her grandson, little Timmy, had come to visit with his shiny, mysterious “laptop.”
“Grandma, you just need to connect to the WiFi,” Timmy said, holding up the laptop. “It’s easy.”
“Wi-Fi? What’s that? Some sort of spell?” Mavis squinted suspiciously at the device.
“It’s not a spell, Grandma, it’s the internet. You can use it to look up anything! Even recipes.”
“Ah, recipes,” Mavis muttered, “I still trust the moon and a bit of thyme more than… whatever this is.”
Timmy tapped at the laptop’s screen, trying to explain the concept of “connecting to the network.” Mavis was having none of it. “Wait, you want me to talk to invisible spirits in the air?”
“Grandma, it’s not—” Timmy began before being interrupted.
“I knew it! Spirits, right! They’ve come for me at last!” Mavis cackled, rummaging through her dusty drawers for sage. She started waving the bundle around the laptop, muttering an incantation.
Timmy blinked, bewildered. “Grandma, you’re just supposed to type in the password!”
“Password?” Mavis paused, still holding the sage like a wand. “Ah, that’s what they call the magic words now, huh? I knew it was a password!” She turned toward the laptop and muttered, “I banish thee! To the realm of high-speed connections!”
Timmy sighed and finally typed in the WiFi password. A click. A chime. The laptop lit up.
“Ah! It’s working!” Mavis gasped. “I’ve summoned the portal!”
Timmy, facepalming, just grinned. “I think you mean ‘connected.’”
From that day forward, Mavis was hooked on “surfing the web”—though, she still insisted the WiFi was enchanted. But if you asked her how it worked, she’d give you a knowing look and say, “It’s all about the magic words. And maybe a bit of thyme.”
Bea Riley 