
Pixie Dust Lasts Forever
The sense of smell and taste are intertwined and are the strongest senses we have connected to memory. I can reminisce through the tastes of my past from chocolate to cough medicine. However, it does come as a surprise that I have any surviving taste buds after what my brother did to me.
I was about five years old when that crisp NY Halloween came around. Pixie Stix were my favorite candy at that time, tubes of radiant fruit-flavored bliss. After the traditional safety check and trading of candy ritual between my brother and me, I distinctly remember carefully opening all the pastel-striped tubes of Pixie Stix and pouring them into a small white plastic bowl. I had planned to sip out of that glorious bowl in the next few glorious autumn mornings after I finished playing on the swing set outside.
My brother, evil incarnate, had other plans for the candy powder. He was a full seven years older than I and was too old to go trick-or-treating in my opinion. He had a cruel streak a mile wide, and I was his convenient dupe that day.
After playing outside, I headed back in the kitchen and reached for the beautiful bowl. I noticed my brother watching me across the kitchen table, so I decided to down the delicious dust as quickly as possible. Suddenly, my eyes began to tear, my mouth was on fire, and I felt like throwing up. I cried as my eyes swelled shut with pain, and my nose squinched up in a perpetual sneeze. My brother was laughing so hard he fell off the kitchen chair but was immediately sent to his room by my mom who’d heard the commotion from the next room and discovered the sordid truth.
You see, my brother had eaten most of my beloved candy powder and replaced it with some pure black pepper, making sure to cover the top of the bowl with enough Pixie dust to hide the fire-spice. To this day, I can’t eat Pixie Stix without thinking of that bitter day and stifling a sneeze.
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleWelcome to Voice.club, Barb! What a fun story. Is it based on a real-life incident? If so, I hope you don’t get any Pixie Dust this Halloween. You are so right about memories being tied in to the senses of taste and smell. I enjoyed your story, and look forward to reading more from you in the future.
More or less it’s based on a true story from 50 years ago. Plus anyone with an older brother can tell you these things do happen. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Hi, Barb, and welcome to Voice.club. What a delectable first story. I’m so lucky to be an only child – no big brothers to switch out my candy! Good job.
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThe bond can grow stronger as we age. I’m closer to him now. I’m working on a much bigger piece, and it will take much longer. It’s a supernatural story, family-related, truth mixed in with fiction. Even my family members won’t know which pieces are true or not. It started as a grieving strategy but it’s taking on its own path. I keep putting it off because it forces me to face… Read more »
Thank you, Carrie. I’m all over the writing landscape. My biggest project is a supernatural fusion piece where even my family members won’t know which parts are true and which are fictional. It just forces me to reconcile the deaths of my parents and grieve. The flash fiction and shorter contests have been for me to keep on my toes.
Miss Barb, loved the way you cleverly crafted the senses of smell and taste through your story. Pixie Dust sounds delicious, but has a hidden connotation of naughtiness which you exploited well!
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThank you. I don’t know if regular Pixie Stix are still available.
A warm welcome to Voice club, Barb. Welcome to the family.
I don’t know if I should laugh or cry, Barb. I feel the annoyance that your female protagonist feels. Her older brother was very mischievous; he didn’t even save a bit for his youngest sister. But anyway, your story is nice, Barb. I was carried away. Good job.
I am looking forward to reading more stories from you.
The first revenge Christmas present I brought for his YOUNG kids at the time….fingerpaints. One year it was drums and kazoos.
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThat is hilarious, Barb. Although I do think those should have been Halloween presents, so he’d be sure and make the connection. Drums and kazoos – revenge is sweet ?
When they turned 10 I bought them glam makeup. Drove him crazy. Revenge for not only the Pixie Stix, but for the Barbie Massacre that came later.
You made my day, Barb. That’s too hilarious. ?
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleI’m 55 and he’s 63, and I’m still finding ways to make up for the times he took ALL THE MARSHMALLOWS out of the Count Chocula cereal.
Welcome to Voice.club, Barb. I enjoyed reading about your terrible childhood memory and your reminder of how powerful and insistent experiences of smells and tastes can be. It was also fun to read about how you took “revenge” on your brother.
I still include his presence in my writing. A good source of storyline.
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThe story is an account of an amusing incident with a deft punch line. Good work!
Brothers can do that. He was like Sid from Toy Story.
A beautiful funny story, Barb. Excellent!
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleGood memories…except for the pepper. The bowl was an old melamine bowl, little chips from overuse. And it’s burned into my nose.