Tags
Fiction, flash fiction, short stories, short story, story, writing
The sun was beginning to sink below the horizon, and he cursed his luck. If he had taken the other road, he could have been sinking a pint of ale in a warm tavern by now. But no, he had to take the direct route. He was a fool thinking he’d make it in one day on foot. Now he would be walking it in the dark.
He whistled to himself for company as he walked, trying to pick up his pace and assuage his nerves. The trees seemed to crowd in upon him, and the path he walked grew ever darker.
He stopped whistling and listened. Was his mind playing tricks on him?
No, there it was again. A haunting melody, carried on the breeze. He didn’t recognise the song, and found himself stepping off the path, drawn towards the source. He crept through the trees and the undergrowth until he found himself beside a stream, close to the edge of the clearing from which the music emanated. Instinctively, he hid behind a bush to peer out.
He saw a beautiful young maiden in the clearing, dancing beside the stream. He watched as she lifted her skirts, one dainty bare foot tracing a pattern across the grass. Her graceful movements seemed calculated to tantalise, even though she had no idea she was being watched.
He held his breath as he watched her dance, but as she moved across the clearing he found his view obscured by the foliage. He moved, hoping to get a clearer view of the captivating maiden, but his foot fell upon a dry twig that snapped with a heartbreakingly loud noise.
The maiden stopped dancing, turning with a gasp to stare at him. He stepped out of hiding, his hands spread in an apologetic gesture, but the girl turned and dived into the stream, disappearing from sight in an instant.
He ran after her, diving desperately into the stream after her. He saw, too late, how shallow the stream was, and in the brief moment before his head hit the rocks he thought that he heard the nymph laughing.
© Kari Fay
(Author’s Note: Three Word Wednesday, which I forgot to do yesterday because I forgot what day it was, this week provides the words Dainty, Haunting and Tantalise. With an S instead of a Z, because I’m British.)
Old Egg said:
What a beautiful tale of voyeurism and its disastrous result. You captured it well and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is annoying about those American zeds isn’t it?
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Kari Fay said:
Thanks Egg. Glad somebody agrees with me about the zeds (which is another thing that annoys me – it’s zed not zee!)
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Sheilagh Lee said:
great story not unlike a fairytale of old.
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Kari Fay said:
Thanks Sheilagh, that’s what I was aiming for 🙂
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laradunning said:
Great story, leads you in and makes you laugh at the end with the nymph.
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Kari Fay said:
Thanks Lara.
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ms pie said:
ohhhh that captured me… delightful.. well not his end.. well maybe so for peeking… and the s and z goes both ways, after living in the land of oz and coming back.. i still write z instead of s and s instead of z… sorta like the numerical date… it is a whirl of numbers and placement..
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Kari Fay said:
Thanks Ms Pie, glad you liked it. As for the s and the z, I can see how it would be confusing to change between the two!
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