Background:
I have been sitting down to write a short story every week but lately
I’ve been suffering severe writers block both in short stories and
the novel series I’ve been writing recently. So this is my attempt
at writing something while I’m in the middle of my writers block.
Short
Story #8 - The Nymph
Ellie
sat at the edge of the garden, looking down at the river that wound
its way down the hillside. It glowed with light reflected from the
dimming afternoon sky, turning the surface a pale purple as the sun
collapsed behind a tree-covered hill. Her sister Rika was laughing
nearby as she played with the farmer’s son from down the
cobblestone path, the children hiding in the trees as dusk neared.
“Supper
is almost ready,” their mother called. “Lucas, it’s time for
you to go home now.” The blonde-haired boy looked up and took his
hat off, elegantly bowing.
“As
you wish,” he said. He turned to Rika, gently kissing the knuckles
of her hand. “I will see you tomorrow.” Rika blushed crimson and
nodded, giggling as she ran to the open back door. Ellie got to her
feet, brushing clean the skirts she wore but stopped midway back to
their house. The darkening yard always had a multitude of noises,
from birds to small creatures flitting through the trees but there
was nothing. Only the sound of the rushing river gave away her
ability to hear at all.
Ellie
turned to start walking but something caught her eye, by the stone
fence. She turned to find a stranger there, looking down at a small
figure in the palm of his hand. The figure wore wings and a dress of
the palest blue, little ears pointed as she gestured in varying
directions. Ellie took a step and the figure froze, looking at Ellie
with horror etched across her elfin features. The stranger noticed
her too and walked to the gate, their face hidden by the depths of
the hood they wore.
Panicked
Ellie ran inside the house and locked the door, taking the stairs two
at a time until she flung herself in her room and shut the door. She
turned on her heel, leaning against it with her eyes shut but
screamed when she opened them. The figure was standing before her, a
masculine hand covering her mouth. Her screams were dimmed and
suddenly she was over his shoulder and out the window. The free-fall
to the ground below terrified her but the stranger landed with the
litheness of a cat.
The
river raged nearby as the stranger carried her writhing form over it,
the nymph leading the way. Ellie managed to kick the stranger in the
stomach and she rolled to the ground, taking off running the moment
she stopped. The skirts she wore were heavy and her hair came free
from where it was pinned; her breath was laboured as she pushed
herself to run faster.
She
could hear the boots of the stranger thudding against the ground, the
slight tingle of the nymph’s harsh but beautiful laughter. It
scraped through Ellie’s head and left it throbbing. A tree root
jutting from the ground became her undoing as she lifted her skirts
and prepared to leap over it, the fabric snagging on a loose branch.
She tumbled to the ground and a heavy weight came down on her,
knocking her unconscious…
They
never did find her body, only the stains of blood from a shock animal
attack. Only the nymph and her master know the truth.
No comments:
Post a Comment