The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

The Mad Hat 
by Rie Sheridan Rose

I don’t remember where I came from. I do know my materials are top of the line. Butter-soft Corinthian leather stitched with silk; band braided from leather sourced from Spain and dyed with precious saffron. I am elegance personified as far as hats go.

The first owner I remember was an old wise man…I believe they called him a “wizard” as we traveled through the world. I was always at his side—well, on his head. But then we led our companions into a horrible, abandoned mine, and fell from a great height to the depths of horror. When I came to my senses, my master no longer wore his gray robes…he was resplendent in white. I no longer belonged. With regret, he said goodbye, gifting me to a friend of his.

That gentleman loved to throw tea parties. I sat upon his head for decades. I lost track of the times he fished that silly mouse out of his tea. It made me a little crazy, to be honest. I was a bit relieved when he decided a top hat fit his persona better. I was passed along again…but I didn’t mind. I had learned much from my eccentric owner. Like how to speak.

My current state is my favorite yet. I hope to stay here until my leather cracks and my band turns to dust. Do you have a child who has a bit of talent in the magical arts? From my first master, I learned what makes magic work. From the second, the ability to tell it. Now, I make children happy. I start them on their path to their future. You might say, I sort them out.

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Fiction © Copyright Rie Sheridan Rose
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from Author Rie Sheridan Rose:

Overheard in Hell:
Dark Poetry

Poems exploring hell and damnation. Tales of sorrow, vengeance, betrayal, and redemption. Ghosts, ghouls, and demons stalk these pages. Don’t read in a lonely house…in a darkened room by a single candle…

…unless you like the touch of an icy finger up your spine.

Available on Amazon!