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Just like that, Kevin sneezed and knocked her sideways. The whirling contents cradled in her palms clumped and spilled sloppily forth. Lightning exploded. Snow became ice. Instead of a heavy, gentle snowfall that would gradually build up – plenty of warning for those below – houses were buried to their soffits, cars slid sideways, careening into suddenly-appearing snow banks. Communication towers toppled. 

“I told ya, you shoulda checked the meter in the Grimoire! Look what you done!”

“You sneezed, Kevin. Not my monkeys, not my circus.” She turned her back on her apprentice, smiling. This was his final lesson in weather-casting.

© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2022)

Carrot Ranch Prompt (11/28/2022): In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story using the saying, “not my monkeys, not my circus”. What is the situation that would spawn that aphorism? Have fun with setting and characters! Go where the prompt leads!