Month: October 2026

October 2026 short stories

Two short Halloween stories.  These stories are the sole property of Yi Ching and AI was not used in writing them

Taking Flight

The bell tolled, signaling the end of the period for the thirteen apprentices.  “Any final questions before we break for lunch?” asked their instructor Ursula, who was feeling hungry, having skipped breakfast because she overslept.

Endora raised her right hand.

Ursula sighed, she is always asking questions; what is it this time she thought but didn’t say,

“Yes, Endora.” 

“Why do we always ride on brooms.  Why not just any old pole or tree branch?”

“It’s just tradition,” answered Ursula, hoping that that answer would suffice, but of course it didn’t with Endora.

“But traditions have origins,” Endora persisted.

Must always encourage their curiosity, Ursula reminded herself.  “There are a number of explanations offered,” replied Ursula patently.  ”One is that because most witches were women, and the broom was associated with sweeping which was women’s work around the house, it became associated with witches.”

“That’s so sexist!” exclaimed Endora.

“Another is of more scatological origin,” continued Ursula.

“What’s that mean?” asked Endora.

“I’ll explain it to you in private after lunch,” said Ursula.  The other apprentices’ ears perked up.

“How about the rest of us?” asked Circe.

“All right,” Ursula said.  “But let’s eat first.”

After lunch, Ursula gathered the class around her under an oak tree outside of the dining hall.  She concluded her explanation, which had many of the girls tittering, by saying, “And all this because witches, back then were thought to be depraved, lustful, satanic women who indulged in obscene rituals to gain their powers.  Of course actually, then as now, the Grand Coven Master casts the spells to endow the brooms with the power of flight.

And remember next week is the midnight coven under the full moon when Grand Master Malvolia comes to celebrate the halfway point of your apprenticeship by casting those flight spells on your very own broom that you will need to provide.  You can find a wide selection of brooms to purchase on line.  Any questions?”

“Does it matter what the broom is made of?” asked Morgana.  “Plastic versus straw or actual corn broom?”

“Well, wood handles and corn broom or straw are more traditional, but no, any broom will be fine but it has to be one that you obtain yourself, not just one taken from your home.”

Endora raised her hand.  “I’ve been thinking.”

Of course you do, thought Ursula

“You said brooms became traditional because they symbolized woman’s work around the home sweeping and so became associated with witches.”

“That is one theory,” Ursula replied, wondering where her inquisitive apprentice was going with this.

“Mops were also used by women to clean up around the home.  Has a mop ever been used?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” said Ursula.  “I would think all those mop strings or rags would become frayed and tattered very quickly in flight.”

Endora continued, pursuing her line of thought, “If it became symbolic of woman’s house work, then how about something more modern like a vacuum cleaner?”

Endora really has an inventive mind, thought Ursula.  “That has also never been tried as far as I know,” she replied.

“Do you know if there’s a rule that would prevent its use instead of a broom?” Endora asked.

“Not that I’m aware of.  I just don’t think anyone’s ever tried.”

“So there may be a bit of latitude.  Thank you, Ms. Ursula,” said Endora.  “Now I’m late for my next class.”  And she retrieved her skateboard that had been propped outside the classroom door and sped off —leg-powered—to her next class.

“Well,” remarked Ursula to the apprentices who remained, “After next week’s mid-semester coven you will all probably be literally flying around the campus.”

“I think that I’ll go traditional,” said Morgana.  “A wood handle and real broom straw, even though it’ll be more expensive than a plastic broom from a discount store.”

“Good for you.  I prefer the more traditional myself,” said Ursula, while wondering what Endora meant by ‘bit of latitude?’

The following week the thirteen apprentices sat nervously in a row holding their brooms and waiting for Grand Master Malvolia to call them up one by one with their brooms to have the power of flight conferred.

“Where’s your broom, Endora?” asked Circe. “And what’s that you’re holding under your black cloak?  Oh she just called my name to go up.  I have to go.  You’ll be next.”  Circe knelt and presented her broom to Grand Master Malvolia to have it blessed and to receive the flight spell, then straddled her broom and flew, silhouetted against the full moon, around the gathered covens in celebration, before alighting back at her seat.

Endora was next.  She too knelt before Malvolia snd held up a black disc-like object that she retrieved from under her cloak to be blessed.

“What’s this, Endora, and where is your broom?” ask the puzzled Malvolia.

“It’s the modern version of a broom,” said Endora.  “It is called a Roomba and it also cleans the house like a broom.  Please bless it and cast the spell to give it the power of flight.”

“Oh, this is highly irregular,” said Malvolia.  “I will have to consult the rules.”  She conjured up the book of rules, found the section that dealt with flight and read carefully.”  (Of course, Endora had checked the rules earlier using AI and felt confident.)  Finally Malvolia closed the book, set it down. and said, “I find nothing that precludes your use of this Roomba instead of a broom.  I must say this is an entirely new experience for me, but I will bless it and give your Roomba flight.”

And after the spell was cast, Endora leaped on the Roomba, standing balanced confidently on it as if it were her skateboard, and soared off to circle the gathering, looping as she passed in front of the full moon, before skillfully landing it by her seat, to the applause. admiration, and envy of her fellow apprentices.

Homeless

Why do you wish to join us?

I’ve become homeless and I thought perhaps I could move in with you until I get a new home.

Tell us why you became homeless.

You ask ‘why?’  It’s not like it was something that I chose to do.

Okay, if you must be picky.  How did you become homeless?

I was quite happy in that old house on Barren Hill.  Wouldn’t have moved.  But one day two men came to the house and I heard them talking.
When was that?

You know that time really has no meaning for us, so I’m not sure.  Could have been six months or two years.  Anyway one man said, “It is old and would need some repairs and renovations, but just look at that view all the way to the lake and then with forest and the mountains beyond.  Priceless.  And the town is close by.”  The other man said, “I’ve heard some stories about this property.”  The first man replied, “You know every town has its stories and legends.  If you don’t want to renovate, you could just tear it down and build a brand new contemporary home.”  And the second man said, “I’ll need to think about that.  But you’re right about the view.  Just gorgeous.”  They may have talked some more, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying since they had moved outside..

What did you think?  You weren’t curious or worried?

Nothing happened for a while and so I forgot about it.  And what could I have done?  Anyway, things went on as before until one day workmen showed up and they cleared out the bushes around the house and the property.  Shortly after that heavy equipment arrived and I remembered what the men had said about tearing down my house.  So that night after the workers left, I managed to introduce water into the fuel tanks.  In the morning there was a lot of swearing and blaming when the men tried to start the engines.  No work was done that day.  I did the same thing when they tried again and again they couldn’t get the engines going.  They thought that some kids were playing tricks so they posted a night watchman.

And the watchman spotted you when you tried a third time?

Yes, and it was really funny to hear him scream when he did.  Haven’t had that much fun since the last couple that rented the house fled in the middle of the night.  But when the watchman told the others what he saw, they brought in a priest to do an exorcism and that led to my having to move.  Even though I’m a ghost and not a demon, we still are bound by the some of the same rules and so I had to stop sabotaging their machines and had to leave.  And that’s how I became homeless.

Did they tear down your house after you left?

It was really sad.  I’ve got so many memories attached to the house.  I knew every plank, timber, and nail.  I stayed as long as I could.  All gone.

And so here you are.  Asking us to let you join us.

But not permanently.  Just until they finish building.  Then I will move back.

Wait a minute.  The house is gone and that was the connection that kept you there.  You can’t just haunt a new house.  There’s got to be an attachment.

I died in the garden while weeding the cabbages.  The rules say that gives me enough of a connection to the property that it qualifies me to return.  After all, I was a lawyer once and when I pleaded my case to the Hereafter Court, they ruled in my favor..  So please, may I stay here?  Temporarily?

What’s the sentiment of the graveyard?  Shall we let this wandering spirit stay for a time?  Any discussion?  Yes?  Oh good point.  You can stay if you do not do any haunting.  That’s reserved for us permanent residents.  Especially with Halloween just around the corner.

I don’t have any choice or good options.  I agree.

Any other questions or discussion?  If not, all in favor say boo or rattle your bones; opposed, wail.  The boos have it.  You are welcome to stay with us temporarily here in Green Lawn.

Thank you.  And when the house is finished and I move in, you will all be welcome to come and celebrate the first Halloween there.  It’ll be a haunting to remember, especially for the new owners—ho ho ho ho ha ha ha ha!

—————————————————————

You can find more similar short stories by Yi Ching in a compendium entitled “Short and Shorter Stories” on Amazon.

October, 2026. Commentary

On Being Deaf  

Take care of your hearing, because when it goes. it’s gone and even the best hearing aides can’t bring it back where it was.  Back to not having to say ‘what’ or ‘could you please repeat’ or ‘please speak more slowly.’  Back to being able to fully participate in conversations.  Back to enjoying music of any genre because it now all sounds so distorted from what you remember that it used to sound like.  Audiologists, when fitting you, will caution, “Don’t expect the hearing aids to correct you hearing fully back to where it used to be.”   Sadly true.

The first step  is to admit to yourself that you are DEAF, not “just a little hard of hearing.”

It started insidiously for me—my adult children saying ‘you should go to have your hearing checked because we have to repeat ourselves now talking to you.’  ‘Maybe you should speak more clearly and not with you mouth full as Mom and I tried to teach you,’ I’d retort.  This was in my late sixties after I’d retired.  When I finally conceded that there could be a problem and saw an audiologist, I was told that I had mild to moderate hearing loss, slightly more in the right than the left ear and that a hearing aide could be helpful.  

I ordered a pair of hearing aids and, after having them fitted and adjusted, I suggested to my wife, “Let’s go to the noisiest restaurant we know for dinner tonight and see if I can understand you.”  That was Ryan’s, a favorite.  To put the new contraptions through their paces, I asked to be seated by the open kitchen and, through the clatter of pans and dishes, the cacophony of conversations, I could hear and understand my wife.  A revelation!

That happy state of instrument-enhanced hearing continued for many years.  But then at the symphony I found that the percussion section seemed too prominent and intrusive.  So I asked to change my seating to one on the left side of the hall by the string section.  That didn’t quite solve the problem, but the music sounded better, more balanced, to me.  And I could still enjoy my CDs and FM radio.  Understanding speech continued to not be a problem. 

It was probably a coincidence, but around the time that the COVID pandemic struck, I began to have problems understanding speech.  People sounded like they were speaking loudly enough but their words were harder and harder to comprehend.  Not being a lip reader, I tried to fake it, piecing together the parts of a conversation that I could understand and guess at the whole of what was said.  That worked sometimes and at other times led to “That’s not what I was asking (or saying).”  

Time to retest.  In previous tests I had always scored well in the speech comprehension part of the test where you are fed a word through your headset and asked to repeat it.  But now my comprehension was down in the sixty percent range.   And yes, there was a new generation of hearing aids out.  So I bought the highest rated one.  The audiologist asked me what my primary concern was and I answered understanding speech, so that was the bias that she adjusted the hearing aids for.  

But now music became very distorted from what I remembered that it sounded like, even using the “music”setting on the hearing aides.  (I should mention that the higher rated hearing aids do have a variety of settings—general use, speech emphasized, noisy environments, music, and customizable.)  I would have settled for instrumental/symphonic music sounding as if I was listening to it on AM radio.  But now what I heard was not even at that level of fidelity.  And singers voices were so painfully distorted that I just could not listen to my favorites anymore, preferring to ‘hear’ them in memory.  I’ve gone back to have further adjustments on now my third pair of hearing aids but, as I was told, there is just so much that can be corrected when the nerves are dying.  And so I’ve lost the joy of actually listening to music.  

There was another quirk that I discovered related to use of the various hearing aid settings.  I am no longer sure of what my voice really sounds like since it seems different internally to me with each adjustment.  When I ask others, they say my voice sounds the same.

Unfortunately over time, it became progressively harder and harder to understand words.  The audiologist made a number of suggestions to help speech comprehension.  The person speaking should always face you and not have their back to you when speaking; They should not mumble or speak with food in their mouth; They should not have their hand over or close to their mouth; They should speak distinctly and slowly.  And for you, the deaf one, try to avoid extremely noisy situations.  Well and good, but should I hand this list to everyone that I’m planning to have a conversation with?

I’m aware of how frustrating it is for the hearing to deal with the deaf.  How much easier it is to just bypass and ignore the deaf person and to talk around him or her as if they’re a part of the furniture.  And there is the problem that because you are ‘dumb’—meaning non-verbal—at gatherings because you are unable to follow the multiple conversations swirling around you, there will be those who will think you are ‘dumb’—meaning stupid— because you don’t speak up.  Well there is that saying, “Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.”  But sadly with advancing age, the mind also does process what it hears more slowly because it must do an internal verification that it heard correctly. and so yes, there can be a lag between what is said to you and your reply.  So in conversations, you may truly appear dumb, because you are slower to respond.

Isolation compounds the problem.  It is hard work to concentrate on what others are saying, even on TV.  But the less one practices listening, the easier it is to retire into one’s own internal world.  A world where what one’s own thoughts are easily understood.  And that retreat then becomes a descending spiral.  So fight the gathering deafness, work to listen carefully to what is being said.  Don’t let yourself become dumb and dumber.

And be thankful when people are willing to repeat themselves because you didn’t get what they had said the first time.  Be very thankful when people try to include you in the conversation by speaking more slowly, more loudly, speaking directly facing you, repeating themselves, and hiding their frustration at having to do so.   By trying to talk to you and include you, they are showing that they realize you are an old person (forget euphemisms like ‘senior citizen’— you are old!) with a hearing deficit but a working mind and that you are not just dumb—ie stupid—or senile.