002: The toad.

There was something behind the shed. In the space between the shed and the wall, where some ripped tarpaulin and a broken wheelbarrow had been slung.

The boy saw it go under there, nearly but not quite.

It could’ve been a shadow of a leaf moving. But it could have been a toad.

Last summer he had chased toads across the grass in his grandmas garden. One time he’d caught one and they’d let him keep it in a jar for a few hours before he’d been made to let it go.

The boy picked up a stick from underneath the beech tree and got down on his hands and knees. The bright sun confused his eyes so that everything seemed completely dark. He paused for a moment.

He looked into the darkness and blinked.

He had some vague ideas about monsters and some very definite ideas about spiders. But a toad was a toad.

He pushed his sleeves up and began to inch himself forward under the tarpaulin.

If you liked this, please consider signing up to the Stories From Nowhere Substack. It’s pretty much the same but with fancy animation and you won’t have to worry about missing anything.

I know that’s been on your mind.

@tom_cornfoot is a writer, designer, and illustrator. He’s spent over 30 years carefully developing a style of handwriting that’s almost illegible, defending his collection of old copies of Playboy and failing to learn to play the guitar.

The 100 stories in this collection are plucked from the air, like everything else. There’s no consistent link or thread, unless of course you find one, in which case, it was entirely planned that way.

Words and pictures © 2023 Tom Cornfoot