WONDERSTORIES

 Demons of Alabama Samuel sat upon the horse's saddle on that distant spring morning, his figure enveloped in an otherworldly mist. The people around him shouted with excitement: insults, curses, and other improprieties. Samuel's mind, obscured and veiled, struggled to grasp the unfurling enigma, sensing the foreboding undercurrents that saturated the air. A rope, tethered around his neck, reached upward, vanishing into the brown branches of an ancient tree. It was the mid-19th century, in an isolated village nestled in the heart of rural Alabama, and Samuel awaited his tragic execution by hanging. The townsfolk harbored an unsettling fixation on the gallows, their collective fascination drawn to the somber spectacle unfolding in the small square. The executioner and the authorities stood in restless vigil, awaiting the arrival of an enigmatic figure, one of profound authority who would preside over this macabre rite. Impatience thrived among the throngs; their impulsive yearni...

 The Kaleidoscope I don't know what madness got into Mr. Juvenal's head. The place where he and Dona Maria lived was already the world’s end. And yet, he decided to move further away. Maria accepted because she was a woman who would accept anything, but she couldn't understand her husband's head. In part, she did. He was a hell of a hermit; it seems he feared people. For her, she didn't care. What worried her the most was the child. What would Joana, a three-year-old girl, do in such a place? Children end up surviving everything. And Joana created her little fantasy world right there. The closest neighbors weren't close at all; they were far away.  Geronimo, however, was easier to see than the others. He was about 20 years old and followed his father's career: a backwoods traveling salesman. He brought things that people who live at the end of the world need—a little salt, seasoning, and pepper. Yes, of course, wheat flour, since cassava and corn, Maria grew...

 In a Glass House Doctor Erik had left the office early. He had agreed to make a home visit, something no doctor did anymore. After all, he had moved to this inhospitable part of the state where some concessions were needed. Deep down, he had been dominated by a pressing desire to get to know that strange part of the city where few people went. City? This was far more rural than any other place he had seen. Another motivation was the boredom of everyday life, the same kind of people and everything.  And there he was, on that remote road with an imitation of asphalt, seeing the same landscape for more than half an hour. Low vegetation, flat land that never ended. He hadn't passed any cars yet. Probably he wouldn't find any. Someone had already commented that sometimes two days would go by without a vehicle circulating. According to the instructions he had received, in five minutes he would see a small wooden sign with the inscription “Linda’s Ranch”. He should turn right on a r...

 Seven Kisses   This tale is from an era when people still dwelled in quaint villages. Sagar and Roland were two brothers who lived with their parents. They were barely in their youth when their father succumbed to an illness rampant in their region. Their mother followed a fortnight later. The elder brother, Sagar, was taken in by relatives a few miles away, while the younger stayed with a close family friend. Life proceeded, not without hardship, but it did nonetheless. As the years passed, the brothers saw little of each other. One day, Sagar received the distressing news. His brother, Roland, had passed away from poisoning. In desperation to understand the tragic event, he packed up and set off to his brother's village. Upon arrival, he spoke with an elder, a de facto community leader, as the friend who had cared for Roland had passed away years earlier. The elder reported to him that Roland had been buried already due to urgency but affirmed that he had indeed been p...