Postcard Stories

What if I just started telling a story with one postcard and continued on another to someone else and so on? I'm @WaywardWanderer on Postcrossing.com. Here's where I'm posting my story.

[nineravens]

#23: . . . By the harsh cry of a raven. Ca-ca-caw! Followed by a loud tapping on the window framing the full moon. “What you doing here?” Amalthea asked as she reached up to open the window.

[nineravens]

#22: Suddenly the room lit up with the more natural light of the storm. 1 — 2 — 3 BOOM! It had’t hit too far away. Amalthea jumped in fright though when the thunder was followed . . .

[nineravens]

#21: “Not weird. Not weird at all,” she said as her eyes adjusted to the darkness and her mind adjusted to magic lights streaming from an old book in a witch’s hut in the middle of the forest.

[nineravens]

#20: Amalthea slammed the book shut leaving the small room in darkness, the only sound her heavy breathing and the rain on the roof above her head.

[nineravens]

#19: . . . Before the words resolved themselves into a language that Amalthea could read. And although she could reach each word—what they meant? That was a whole other story. . .

[nineravens]

#18: The writing within the book was unfamiliar to Amalthea. She leaned closer to get a better look. The writing became blurry and moved jittering across the page. She squinted and leaned in even closer before the words. . .

[nineravens]

#17: . . . A strong wind blew up from the book as it opened by invisible hands. A cold blue light glowed from its pages. Amalthea cautiously approached the book to see what was written within.

[nineravens]

#16, August 7, 2022: . . . And almost dropped it when she saw the same design on the cover of the book. Upon closer inspection, she3 noticed that the design on the book was raised and the token fit in it exactly and click. . .

[nineravens]

#15, August 7, 2022: …She reached into her pocket and drew out the token. It gleamed silver in the dying light of the embers. As Amalthea turned it in her hand, she saw a hint of electric blue along the edges. She gasped…

[nineravens]

#14, August 7, 2022: Amalthea wandered over to the table and reached out to run her fingers along the worn leather cover. She traced the battered edges and a slight frisson of energy ran up her arm. She remembered…

[nineravens]

#13, August 7, 2022: The young woman hurried out of the rain and into the darkened room. The coals inn the hearth were still glowing dimly, casting just enough light to illuminate an old book sitting on a large wooden table…

[nineravens]

#12, August 7, 2022: The rain continued to pour fiercely. The wind howled but no noise came from inside the dark house. Amalthea tried to open the door. It opened easily if noisily. The room was still warm and dry…

[nineravens]

#11, August 7, 2022: A sudden crash sounded from within. A woman’s raised voice called out in alarm and then all the lights in the house went out. Amalthea stood under the awning listening but there was only silence…

[nineravens]

#10, August 7, 2022: As she drew closer, she saw a small stone house nestled among the trees. The windows were lit and smoke drifted up the chimney. Amalthea hurried to the door and knocked…

[nineravens]

#9: August 7, 2022

She felt the ground under her rise and as she reached the crest of the hill, Amalthea saw a warm glow through the trees. “That must be it,” she thought and headed toward it.

[nineravens]

The person in Germany who received postcard #4 read the story and sent me the next installment. I wasn’t expecting anyone to play with me, but this just made my day!!! So this is now officially #8 in the story.

“Amalthea wondered if the woman would accept her offer; if it would mean anything to her. She was said to be a miserable old grouch, seeking the solitude of the woods for goods reasons. Considering the glaring yellow eyes that had been following the girl for over an hour now, she highly doubted that this forest offered anything close to solitude. She brushed the thought as well as her followers’ gaze off and continued her stride.”

[nineravens]

I received a lovely thank you message in response to postcard #7:

“Thank you for the card and beautiful stamps :) At first your message was intriging. Then I went to read the story on Tumblr. It's cool and what an amazing idea! I'm lucky now to have a piece of it. I will have to go back from time to time to read the rest. And also, I love your artwork :) My day just go better, I hope yours will be great!”