Sin Eating, My Entry into NYC Midnight’s Short Story Contest (2025)

Genre: Fairy Tale/ Subject: An Eating Contest/ Character: A Poser

Image from Canva

The corpse of Lord Vander dominated the ample space of a large oak altar. Around him, plates were piled with bread and the roasted legs of beasts that surely died starving. Nasir watched as tiny pinpricks of lights pulsed in and out around the table. The fairies’ eyes were like fireflies. Radiant amber lights blinked and appeared elsewhere as they flitted about on diminutive wings. If one was close enough, they would even make out their fanged grins.

The fairies zipped and fluttered between plates of food. As they laid their hands on the roasted and emaciated meat, Nasir’s face of wonder contorted into a frown. He remembered why he was there, standing before a large crowd in the torchlit chapel. His stomach churned and twisted, like the acid formed a sudden whirlpool. He and the other person next to him had a monumental task ahead. Eating sin was no small feat. Nasir knew that for him, the task would be more difficult than it would be for his competitor. He wasn’t excited to know what Vander’s cruel mind tasted like. How could anyone imagine the flavor of hatred and condescension? Would the slur he heard from him so frequently taste like dirt and rot and garbage?

Nobody cares, Mudworm. Vander chuckled in his head.

The pairs of amber orbs and glittering wings ascended for the rafters. Vander’s sins were successfully moved. It weaved between the fibers of the bread. It marbled like fat on meat and bone. Nasir’s stomach protested again; it gurgled and felt like it was trying to turn itself inside out. His mind and gut colluded against him, and he struggled to control them both. His thoughts formed questions like “Would a blow to the face taste like copper?” and his gut would respond with fierce nausea. Relief came in the form of distraction as the Priest spoke.

“As we all know, the great city of Ascenia, capital of the Divine-kissed country of Gaea, is built upon strong foundations. Of course, the white stone that bears our glorious city is only one part of that foundation. Great people hold this city on their shoulders as well and are just as immovable as the stones. Lord Vander was such a cornerstone. When he set his mind to a great work, he was unstoppable.”

Nasir flinched. There was truth to the Priest’s words. There was nothing Nasir could do to stop the strikes against his frail frame when Vander did his “great work”. He definitely tasted copper then.

There was no guarantee the violence would taste like anything, Nasir thought. It was a sin in his mind, but to the Priest, the Holy Assembly, and the citizens of Ascenia, it wasn’t. Perhaps Nasir’s pleas for mercy tasted like a cold glass of citrus water. Maybe every strike and every plea were the flavor of a light and airy lemon cake. His tears could be a rejuvenating nectar whose salt became sugar on the tongues of his assailants. Then, he reasoned, it would explain the ferocity in their attacks. There would be a reason for the predator’s glint in their eyes.

Nasir refocused on the table. He needed to be present and prepared for the task ahead. If he ate more of the sin-ridden food than his opponent, he would get an audience with the Fairy Queen of Ascenia. He could petition to join the city and be as far away from the title of “mudworm” as possible. He would stare into the Fairy Queen’s gleaming eyes as she traced the fairy rune for “clean” on his forehead in fairy dust. All this agony would be worth it. All he had to do was save Vander’s rotting soul.

And endure this insufferable priest’s overblown speech. He sure loved to talk.

“Now amidst his great deeds, Vander was a man. He was better than many of us, but none are without sin. No one is stainless but The Fairy Queen herself.”

“Glory to the Queen of Dust,” everyone chanted, including Nasir. The Priest continued.

 “So, to ensure that Vander receives his just reward without condition, these Mudworms,” the priest motioned to Nasir and his opponent. “Will consume what little sin Vander has committed. And the one who contributes most to his absolution will get an audience with The Fairy Queen.”

“Glory to the Queen of Dust,” the assembly chanted again.

The priest smiled, the torchlight gleaming against his eyes and teeth. “Surely you little mudworm parasites will wish for her anointing. Eat enough, and she will grant you an existence worth something.”

Nasir glanced at his competition. She was thin, like him; covered in dirt, like him; and had eyes set with painful determination. He hoped he looked the same. Nasir turned to look at the gathered audience. There were certainly a few fellow unfortunates in the back of the crowd, but most were citizens of Ascenia, here to honor the dead. Above, the dark ceiling still twinkled intermittently with the eyes of fairies.

“Take your positions at the table,” The priest boomed.

Nasir and the opponent stood on either side of the massive table.

“Go sinless into the Beyond. Be at peace Vander, Lord of Order.” The Priest closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “By the Dust, may it be.”

The crowd repeated. “By the Dust, may it be.”

Finally, the priest waved a hand at Nasir and the opponent.

“Eat, or writhe with the rest,” The Priest ordered.

Nasir didn’t look at his opponent. He grabbed the first plate he saw and almost flung a roll at the crowd in his haste. He brought a leg to his open mouth and took a massive bite. Rumor had it that starting with a timid small bite would only discourage a sineater. The trick was to push. Punish oneself for being a worm, endure it, and be made clean later. The winner would always be the one who gave themself the least mercy. So, Nasir started fast and hard.

He gagged. The taste was beyond disgusting. Worse, Nasir knew what he tasted, because he saw it in his mind. His head pounded as screams reverberated in his skull, and his body shivered at the crack of a whip. He saw a man whipped with relentless fervor. He felt the whip in his own hands, the sweat drip down his forehead. Nasir’s chest heaved with the laughter that shook Vander as he struck again and again with mad glee. While Nasir’s chest and gut did spasm from the secondhand laughter, he instead appeared to be randomly shaking.

Nasir paused and looked at the crowd. Just a brief respite, he thought. He just needed to adjust, he—

Nasir noticed a man in the front row. It was the man still being whipped in his head. He was dressed in a black tunic, pants, and coat, typical mourning clothing. He was a citizen, not a Mudworm. The man was glaring at Vander’s corpse. When the man’s eyes drifted to Nasir, his face remained dark with simmering rage.

The sound of his opponent coughing next to him snapped Nasir back to reality. He gritted his teeth, took a breath, and continued. Every bite was a reality twisting nightmare. Pleasure, screams, threats, blood, burns, and pain, so much pain, flooded his mind and body. He nearly threw up three times against his opponent’s five. As he continued to keep momentum, he recognized more and more citizens, some of which he vaguely remembered as sineaters at one point too. So many people in the crowd were wronged by Vander and his colleagues. All were told to keep secrets and made citizens through blood and silence. All were given a choice that feed a winged beast that sat on a throne playing god.

Endure misery and save yourself, or writhe with the rest of the worms.

Nasir steadied himself on the table. Vander’s massive corpse still reclined peacefully on the table. He dropped his third emptied plate on the floor. He could barely stand and wondered why this appeared so much more intense than he was told. No one mentioned sensory effects or visions. All everyone mentioned was the flavor. It tasted more rotten than anything they had ever eaten. But this went far beyond taste. Nasir looked at his opponent. At least she was in the same boat. She was also leaning on the table, and as their eyes met, Nasir knew she was seeing things too.

Nasir grabbed another roll and nearly forced the whole thing in his mouth. His body trembled again at the myriad of sensations that invaded his being. He, or rather, Vander, was before the Fairy Queen, kneeling, smiling, feeding her . . . feeding her . . . pain. Their pain. Her glowing eyes rolled back in her skull and her gossamer wings flitted as a wave of pleasure cascaded across her body. She looked as if she were eating the most delicious meal ever concocted. Every trauma and emotion felt because of what Vander did to the lowly useless Mudworms was fed to The Fairy Queen. For her, the suffering was ecstasy.

Was this the price for a better life? How many new citizens did the Fairy Queen anoint while their agony lingered on her tongue? Was Vander promised a life of unrestrained sin without consequence, in exchange for feeding the results of that sin to the Queen? And it wasn’t just Vander. There were many Lords with the same tasks as Vander. They all used abuse and debasement as a vehicle for order.

Nasir was already weak, but each bite felt exponential in its potency.  The questions were almost as disruptive to his mind as the food. One question climbed above the rest.
Why was the Queen in a vision of sin? She determines what is or isn’t one. So why reveal this secret?
A series of small hisses erupted from above. The crowd, the Priest, Nasir, and the competitor all looked up. The fairies’ amber eyes slowly changed into a hot and malevolent red.

Yes, Nasir thought. If things were different this time, it was the fairies’ doing.

“Ignore them,” The Priest shouted. The crowd was alive with whispers. “Continue, Mudworms! Or you will—”

The priest stopped short as a single small Fairy descended. Landing on the table, it looked at Nasir and the competitor. It spoke in a soft, raspy, and disjointed tempo, unused to human tongue.

“Lydia. Nasir. Eat and see. See all were wronged.”

It tore two tiny crumbs from another roll and held them out to Nasir and Lydia. They looked at each other, looks of confusion and sympathy crossed their faces. Nodding in unison, they took a bite.

They fell to the floor immediately, curled up in agony as visions of plucked wings and torn limbs burned in their minds. The cacophony of screams, screeches, and hisses would have rendered them deaf, had it not been in their minds. Human and Fairy suffered under the rule of a monster and her handpicked servants. She was a predator posing as a benevolent god of light and purity while feasting on agony. And she ate well. She stood at least five heads taller than the tallest citizen. She only grew stronger, her presence more imposing, her dust more potent. 

And here were Nasir and Lydia, ensuring the absolution of a sadistic worthless servant, all for the sake of that monster’s blessing. Eat or writhe with the rest. No one wanted to admit it, but everyone still writhed in the mud. Some were just able to slither above the rest.

Nasir grabbed the table and stood on unsteady legs. He looked at the fairy, its red eyes burning.

“What should we do?” Nasir asked.

“S-Show them, right?” Lydia said as she got to her feet.

“Show them,” The Fairy said. “Show them show them show them.”

Lydia and Nasir looked at each other and grimaced. They looked worse than Vander did.

“Let’s give Vander a proper send off, yeah?” Lydia said with a weak and pale grin.

Nasir smiled back. The fairy, floating back up from the table, smiled wickedly as well. Nasir and Lydia turn to Vander, spines straighter than before. Defiance and vengeance braced them as they towered over the dead husk of a man. Both were swift as they plunged their fingers down their throats and began to gag.

The Priest moved then. He was a frenzied storm of flailing limbs as he rushed towards them and screamed.

“No! Don’t you dare! Stop!” He screamed as he approached. The crowd gasped as the first long strands of drool began to fall from Nasir and Lydia’s mouths. The small pool growing at their feet glistened with color. They pressed on and suddenly, all that they had eaten splattered onto Vander’s corpse. The vile substance was iridescent, and bright colorful particles wafted up with the stench. As Nasir and Lydia recovered, Lydia smiled with wonder.

“Bloody fairy dust! I can’t believe it,” She said. The priest was close enough to touch them but stopped short as the dust danced in the air before him. All around the panicked crowd, the dust swarmed and twisted, formed shapes and images. All that Vander had done glittered brightly before their eyes. The chapel’s dim torches were but shadows before the luminous and cruel truth.

Everyone, human and fairy alike, looked at the sick display before them. Their rage roared at their painful traumas on display for all to see, but their sorrow followed. All lamented their hidden pain, their ascent because of it, and the fact that, all this time, they never needed to suffer alone. The cruel cycle could have ended long ago if they shared their pain and ascended together to end it.

The crowd embraced each other. They cursed and screamed and eventually looked to Lydia and Nasir. They nodded with grave respect at the two mudworms who not only placed Vander’s sin back upon his tainted soul in the Beyond, but also ruined his name in the material plane. All raised their fists and chanted as red-eyed fairies swarmed about the pair. They landed on their heads, their red eyes and glimmering wings shone like pulsing scarlet crowns. All hailed Nasir and Lydia, King and Queen of the Worms.

And they all writhed and slithered together, their appetite set for the Queen of Dust.