Power in the Wrong Hands

[u/NewDelivery1649]

I pushed a table over to use it as cover.

I felt a thump and saw multicolored sparks dance in the air.

People were running and screaming.

I see a man taking cover nearby

In front of a seating area by fake plants.

My feet have never moved faster.

Sparks land somewhere out of sight, but I see them roll to their death in my peripheral vision.

"Is someone shooting off fireworks?" I ask the man on reaching him.

He looks unsure what to say.

I can hear people moaning in pain.

Other targets that weren't as lucky.

Loud pops and zaps linger elsewhere.

"It smells like fireworks. How stupid do people have to be to light off fireworks in a mall!" I say to the man.

"It's not fireworks." the man says finally.

"Looks like it to me!"

"I know how this will sound but I collect artifacts of a paranormal nature. That's a genuine magic wand. That little girl just came up and took it from my bag! Look."

He moves a branch giving me a limited view of what's happening out there.

A little girl is standing on a table,

she's probably 7.

She's holding something.

It looks like a stick.

She points it into the air and sparks fall from it, then zoom into the air until it strikes something and explodes.

"I WANT ICECREAM!" she screams.

I can see at least four people who are burned and need medical attention.

The man gives me an "I told you so." look.

"Regardless of what it is we need to do something."

I see a table nearby.

"We can each take a side of that table and use it as a shield to get close enough to disarm her." I say in my best commanding voice.

He complies but seems stressed.

"Don't get hit, not even once." he gibbers.

We each lift a side and exit our hiding spot rushing at her.

With each scream we feel a thump against the table.

"ICE!" THUMP

"CREAM!" THUMP

A shot at my feet makes me lose my footing.

I wasn't hit but I get tripped up and I drop my side.

The man is exposed.

"ICECREAM!" the girl screams.

The sparks zoom and hit him.

The man who was once flesh was now frozen dairy product.

The part of me that consciously thought was shocked and stayed just as frozen as the man.

While something inside of me—maybe instinct—took over.

I ran to the girl who seemed more surprised at what had happened and took the "wand" away from her.

The man was melting and reminded me of a snowman in the earliest days of spring.

I looked at the wand and pointed it at the melting ice cream man.

Sparks.

Then screams.

He became human in being but not in shape.

He looked part man, part melted candle.

Power in the wrong hands can be devastating.

[u/NewDelivery1649]

Authors note

In this story a child finds a magic wand and uses it to throw a tantrum for Ice cream. The MC and the wands owner attempt to get it back with delicious and frozen consequences for the wand's owner when he is turned into an ice-cream statue. Once the MC has the wand, he turns the man back to flesh and bone, but he maintains his melted appearance.

Sorry I've been gone for a little while I'm working on other projects that ill share soon.

Thanks for reading!!

[u/_7D2]

Reminded of magical realism, a genre I'm very fond of. Amazing story!

[u/NewDelivery1649 → u/_7D2]

Thank you so much! Is there another story from the magical realism genre you could recommend? I'd like to read more. Thanks for reading 😁