Today’s first story… is written by Eleazar Nolan. This is a tale that has been passed down through Eleazar’s family. I’m told that Eleazar has been hunting for where this story may have originated. It’s subtly similar to an old brother’s Grim tale ‘The Juniper Tree’. This version feels like a natural American folk mutation of that old European root: it shifts the bones of the story into Illinois soil, adds religious framing, and swaps the bird transformation for a chilling chant. Honestly, that’s folklore doing what it does best — adapting to place, faith, and fear. But unique enough to be something new. Wherever it did come from here it is now Written by Eleazar Nolan and told by Wilhelm… The Evil Stepmother.

Then Argentinean author David Clark takes us on a journey for A Retrieved Memory.