HEX and HEN

TWT reading his short story "Hex and Hen" at The Mill by J+A. Photograph by EV.

—

I was invited to participate in the 2023 Creative Colloquy Crawl. I was a featured reader for one of the events, "Spooky Tails," that took place during the first hour.

When I agreed to read, I didn't really have anything in hand to present. I asked if poetry was okay and was told that it was. So I worked on a few poems, but nothing seemed to really capture the spirit of the reading. 

Then I was attacked by a German Shepherd. I don't know why that called forth a short story (!) about a chicken stalking a neighbor living near its coop, but there it was. I wasn't sure this foray into genre fiction, and Lovecraftian cosmic horror at that, really worked, but everyone seemed to connect with it. The Wife declared it "pretty creepy." As I left the stage, one of the other readers told me, "Troy, that was disgusting." I took that as a compliment!

STORIES

Today was a day of storytelling. People wanted to know stories of the Inktopodes—in general and in particular. They wanted to know how I create them. They wanted to know names and why I chose them.

They also wanted to share stories about whom would be receiving one of the Inktopodes or where they would reside.



One woman was struggling to make a decision between three or four Inktopodes until she asked me what Jeanne's (#94) name was and why. I told her that Jeanne was named after Renée Jeanne Falconetti's performance as Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) in Carl Dreyer's 1928 silent cinematic masterpiece La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, because her look reminded me of the closeups of Falconetti in the film.



Another woman told me about her covered outdoor patio "Tiki bar" where she and other teachers would gather after school for drinks and conversation. She eventually settled on Sigmund (#40) once she knew he was named after the title character in Sid and Marty Krofft's Sigmund and the Sea Monsters kids TV show.



And Karpo (#73) went home with another woman after she heard the name. Something "clicked" for her and she knew upon hearing the name that this was the Inktopodes for her niece who collects octopus art and memorabilia.

This was how most of the day went. I told stories. I listened as stories were told to me. New stories were born as Inktopodes swam off to new owners and new homes.

It was a good day.