In the last post: Alf wondered what would happen if he ate a toadstool. If it poisoned him, so what? He was about to die anyway...

Dear friends, on Tuesdays and Saturdays I’m blogging nibble-sized chunks of new ‘Life in the Clouds’ stories. You can check in regularly and read them free, or wait to buy the whole story when published.

---

​Eerie Eve ® James Field. Part 25

With shaking fingers, Alf picked a small toadstool, about the size of a saucer. It was red on top, puke green on its underside, and smelled of decay.

He couldn't help but wonder what it might do to him. Turn him into stone, make him grow huge as Hulk, make him as small as a mouse so he could scuttle away? Or perhaps it would kill him; as far as he'd always believed, toadstools were deadly poisonous.

He was dead meat anyway if he didn't try something fast. There were still many hours before daylight when the troll would either turn back to stone or explode.

"Down the hatch," he mumbled, and bit into the toadstool. The taste reminded him of sour milk and rotten meat. The texture was all squishy, like maggots and slugs might be. So instead of chewing, he pinched his nose and swallowed it whole.

The troll had stopped trying to reach for him and stood with its mouth open, as if just as interested as Alf about the outcome.

Alf stared at the troll and rubbed his eyes. He could see now that the troll was not only female but also young and beautiful. In fact, of all the women he'd had affairs with so far, this damsel took the biscuit.
​
Never one to miss an opportunity with romance, Alf pulled her face to his and kissed her smack on her plush lips.

To be continued…

Image by Karine T. Knudsen from Pixabay

---

​The real world:

Rather than miss an instalment, it’s easy to follow my blog on bloglovin’. They’ll give you a friendly nudge as I release new parts.
​
Like to know more about Alf, Bert and the rest of the gang? You can read their chaotic history in What on Earth.