THE ATOMIZER AND THE MATCHBOX

Tired of being constantly touched,

Felicette Méchant invented

The Atomizer. It shrunk

The atoms of anyone

Who touched her

Without her

Permission,

Packaged

Into a

Tiny

Spray

Bottle.

Soon she

Could keep

All her enemies

In a matchbox, each one

Carefully taped under a tiny

Microscope. She named the box

Her Happy Matchbox and marketed it

With the Atomizer. The world population

Shrunk exponentially as more errant folk

Ended up Atomized and unceremoniously

Taped into Felicette's Matchboxes,

Ready to be set ablaze whenever

The buyer so desired. That was

The catchphrase. Apart from

A few hardcore ones, most

Were content to display

Their boxes, show off

At parties, and for

The recommended

Daily gloat,

Scaring

The tiny folk

With a giant eye

Blinking repeatedly

In their tiny paper sky.

Felicette Méchant received

The Nobel Peace Prize in 2025

From the United Nations Board

For achieving the impossible:

Peace on Earth, at a price, of course.

—

First appeared in Ghostlight, The Magazine of Terror, Winter 2016