In a comment,
matrushkaka used the phrase "I dropped my basket", which isn't one I've heard before. A quick Google later, and I now know that it's from the Ya Ya Sisterhood book (don't remember the full title) and means, basically, to have a total breakdown. Cool – learned something new.
But better than that, I came across a short story called
"The Price of Magic" on writing.com. Reading it, I got faint echoes of James Tiptree, Jr., Suzette Haden Elgin (
ozarque), and Sheri Tepper. (Tiptree and Tepper for the feeling of "somewhat creeped out but can't stop reading" and Elgin for the narrator's voice.) Good stuff.
