Sandy Bertram, curator at the Museum of Art, led Chief Occult Detective Weinberger to the site. The sculpture looked like a large white ring. Three arrows were embedded inside it, and blood streamed from the wounds.
Bertram said, “Any idea how this ring became…alive?”
“Near as we can tell,” sighed Weinberger. “Someone ill-qualified to cast tried to make a golem. The spell got away from him and now it’s giving life to sculptures at random across the city.”
“What happened?”
“Seems he forgot the lemon juice.”
Sandy rolled her eyes. “Dummy! Who forgets the lemon juice?”
Weinberger received a call on his enchanted conch shell. He scowled and hung up. “I have to go.”
“More sculptures?”
“Yep. The Venus De Milo is downtown with a crowd of naked young men.”
Sandy snickered, “Well, it could be worse.”
“It is. Perseus is walking down 37th Ave with the Gorgon’s head.”
_______________________________
Written for Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers: https://flashfictionforaspiringwriters.wordpress.com/2017/08/28/fffaw-challenge-week-of-august-29-2017/
Author’s notes:
I hoped you enjoyed my rare foray into “Urban Fantasy” where magic takes place in modern times.
Golem: “…is an animated anthropomorphic being that is magically created entirely from inanimate matter (specifically clay or mud). The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing.”
Venus was the Greek goddess of love, so you can imagine what a real one likes to do.
Venus De Milo: “…Created sometime between 130 and 100 BC, the statue is believed to depict Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty (Venus to the Romans).”
Perseus was the Greek hero who slayed the Gorgon. The Gorgon had snakes for hair. It’s gaze alone could turn people into stone. Perseus killed the creature and kept the head. He famously presented it to his enemies, who turned into stone.
Perseus:
This is so fantastically inventive; I love it! It’s especially great how, at the beginning, everything seems normal, but then you delve further and further into the fantasy… Great take! π
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Hehe. Yeah, it gets stranger as you go. Just the way I like stories. π Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks very much! π
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Great story !π
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Thank you kindly! π
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This is hilarious! All the famous statues are coming to life and doing some raunchy things! Hahahaha! Great story!
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Yep. I simply couldn’t describe what Venus was doing. I didn’t want an R-rating. π Glad you laughed. Thanks much! π
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Hahaha! I understand. π
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Clever.
From Wikipedia: “A golem is inscribed with Hebrew words in some tales (for example, some versions of CheΕm and Prague, as well as in Polish tales and versions of Brothers Grimm), such as the word emet (ΧΧΧͺ, “truth” in Hebrew) written on its forehead. The golem could then be deactivated by removing the aleph (Χ) in emet, thus changing the inscription from “truth” to “death” (met ΧΧͺ, meaning “dead”). Rabbi Jacob ben Shalom arrived at Barcelona from Germany in 1325 and remarked that the law of destruction is the reversal of the law of creation.”
Guess someone didn’t know their Hebrew.
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Thanks James. Glad you enjoyed reading through the wiki page.
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Enjoyed that read. Love the historical brought modern… and living statues, well, I’m into that as of late as well. π
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Anything that’s way out there at the margins of reality, I like. Living statues are right there. π Glad you enjoyed this one. Thanks much!
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So different – I enjoyed that.
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Glad to hear that. Thank you! π
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Uh-oh, Perseus is causing trouble again. I hope someone on the squad knows the spell for Stone To Flesh — and doesn’t forget the lemon juice this time!
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Yep. Luckily, the Pegasus wasn’t transformed. If Perseus rode over the City carrying the Gorgon head, it would be “a bad thing.” The police have a resident gargoyle. He knows the stone to flesh spell like the back of his hand…so to speak. π Thanks Joy!
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LOL, a “bad thing” indeed! Glad the police have the situation under control!
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Downtown can be a humbling experience for a newbie spell-caster.
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It’s so true. This stuff happens all the time. Unlicensed spell casters are a real problem. π
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Felt as if I am watching some mystery movie!
Engaging tale!
– Anagha From Team MocktailMommies
http://mocktailmommies.blogspot.in/2017/08/cold-blooded-murder.html
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Hehe. Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you! π
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Love it! A wonderfully inventive story, Eric. π
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Thank so much! π
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