This flash fiction falls under the categories of Weird and Horror – it was inspired by the Lovecraftian universe of stories, and I included it in my collection of short stories entitled “Schrodinger’s Kids and Other Short Stories” (available on Amazon in ebook and paperback).
The “Three Sisters” were standing stones at the edge of town with the great distinction that of all the rocks, boulders and other available surfaces in and around town, these three never had graffiti on them. Ever. No one talked about it, but every “knew” better than to piss off the Three Sisters.
Strangers who came through the town sometimes remarked on this very obvious lack of paint on the Sisters, which always invited a variety of local lore about the stones. No one ever seemed to wonder where all the graffiti originated from – which by far, was the more interesting tale, in my opinion.
This wasn’t your typical teen aged angst ridden declaration of rebellion. In fact none of the populace ever really tried to read the many words and symbols included in the graffiti that appeared on alley walls, boulders, and fences. No one ever SAW anyone painting around town. And no one ever tried to remove it.
Mostly their eyes slid past it. It had become a pleasant background decoration that instilled a sense of peace and normalcy for the township. They did have part of the story right, though. There was good cause to fear the Sisters.
The Ealdor-Bana Corporation discovered just how dangerous the Sisters could be when they bought up a small corner of the town. They tore down a block of old buildings and started to construct an office building. Every morning when the construction people got to the site, they found the graffiti. And per the instructions of their bosses, they removed it, and then proceeded to build for the day.
Small accidents began to happen with regularity; then larger ones. A workman fell to his death; another was impaled on a bit of rebar. Then on a particularly stormy day, when they were trying to cover the open parts of the building, several men were hit by lightning, and the foreman swore he saw the Three Sisters in the center of the building.
Construction halted. EBCorp couldn’t get anyone to work on the site. And while they tried to hire more help, they kept sending people to remove the graffiti. Finally, after more accidents on the construction site, ending with the walls collapsing inwards trapping and killing several of the cleaning crew. The EBCorp gave up and abandoned the site as a loss.
If only they had left the protective runes in place, their offices would be completed and their business booming.
I really tried to protect them. You see, the Sisters and I have been in this stalemate for centuries now, and as long as I can paint, I will keep them at bay.
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