Post by rwley on Feb 2, 2008 0:37:53 GMT -5
I wrote the following for another writer's web site I'm part of. It took me about 30 minutes. Don't judge too harshly.
*****
“I’m telling you, there’s no such thing. They’re just myths somebody made up to scare little kids.”
“And I’m telling you I saw one. Yesterday. Right down there.”
Naiya and Valen were arguing again. They were brother and sister and argued often, but they still preferred to play with each other than with the others their age. The others just seemed to be too boring and never wanted to go where the twins wanted to go or do the daring and often forbidden things the twins wanted to do. Today was no exception.
The labored through the heavy underbrush in the Gilgalley woods, working their way toward a spot Naiya had found in her explorations the day before. She was the more adventurous of the two and often went off on jaunts by herself; an act which drove both her parents and her brother to distraction. It had been on this recent outing that she claims to have seen a creature heretofore thought only to exist in folklore and legend.
“Come on Valen. You’re slowing me down. I want to get back there and see if I can see it again and see if there’s more of them.”
“You’re not going to see more, not even one. There is no such thing.” Valen huffed along after his sister. A branch swung back and slapped at his face but he ducked just in time to avoid being hit. “Not funny,” he hissed as Naiya’s giggles floated back to him.
“We’re almost there. The pond is just up here. That’s where I saw it yesterday.” Her voice had gotten farther ahead, and Valen made an effort to speed up and catch her. As he stumbled through some more underbrush, Naiya admonished him to be quieter. “You’ll scare them off if they are there. Now come on. We can hide right here where I was yesterday. We may have to wait.”
Valen finally caught up with his sister and found her crouched down behind several large boulders. There was plenty space for both of them and he hunkered down beside her, peering through the spaces between the rocks. Not far in front of them, a large pond was nestled among several huge trees and was bordered by a large grassy park like area with a small stretch of sandy beach along one side. The water sparkled in the sun, a light breeze just riffling the surface. Birds could be heard in the trees and now and then a fish jumped in the pond. It was tranquil spot, beautiful and definitely conducive to encouraging thoughts of mythical creatures. He was enjoying the peaceful solitude, when Naiya suddenly stiffened beside him.
“Listen, you can hear something coming,” she whispered.
Valen strained his ears to hear what she was hearing and sure enough, a faint sound of something moving through the trees drifted across the open glade. To him, it sounded as if there might be more than one, and there were other noises associated with the movement as well; noises he could not interpret. Both sets of eyes were trained on the copse of trees immediately across the water from their hiding place. The noises grew louder more distinct. There was more than one. As Valen watched, two figures emerged from the trees and made their way to the water’s edge. He blinked several times as if to clear his head of this vision of myth come to reality. He could feel his sister’s triumphant smile beside him.
“Still say they don’t exist?” she whispered quietly. “Hey, why don’t we see if we can catch them?”
“Are you crazy? Don’t they like, bite or something? Or breathe fire?”
“I don’t know. But, look, they’re just little ones. We could catch them and take them home. Come on,” she cajoled, “no one’s going to believe us if we don’t show them one, or two.” She turned her clear green eyes on her brother. “Please?”
As always, he caved. “Okay. Just be careful. Come on.”
Side by side, they crept quietly out of the shelter of the boulders. The two figures on the bank of the pond showed no signs of being aware of anything out of the ordinary and continued to splash and play in the water. Naiya and Valen were within just a few yards when the two by the pond suddenly looked up and saw their uninvited guests. They both froze. Naiya and Valen froze. The four figures stared at each other and the silence between them stretched and stretched until it seemed as if the whole world had fallen silent.
Suddenly, the two figures by the water broke their silence and their stillness. In a dazzling splash of water and unearthly roars of fear, the two sped back into the trees and could be heard crashing through in a frenzy to get away. Neither Naiya nor Valen followed. After a few moments, the distant sounds of retreat faded and the twins turned back toward home. Naiya seemed quite dejected.
“Well, at least you believe me now,” she said. Valen nodded and followed his sister home.
Half a mile away, two figures emerged from the woods, panting and sweating in fear. They finally pulled up to catch their breath and looked behind for signs of pursuit. They looked at each other, and both begin to laugh in spite of the fright they had just experienced. The girl spoke first.
“Hey, can you believe that? Dragons! Nobody is going to believe we just saw two dragons by the lake.”
“I know. Mom’s gonna think we’re crazy or lying.”
“Yeah, so maybe we just won’t tell.” Allison got that look in her eye. “Hey, why don’t we . . .”
“No. We’re not going back.” Brandon held up a hand to stop his twin sister. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but we are not going back.”
“Please?” She turned clear green eyes on her brother.
As always, he caved. “Okay. Tomorrow. “
Smiling, Allison turned and headed for their village. Brandon followed, shaking his head in resignation.
*****
“I’m telling you, there’s no such thing. They’re just myths somebody made up to scare little kids.”
“And I’m telling you I saw one. Yesterday. Right down there.”
Naiya and Valen were arguing again. They were brother and sister and argued often, but they still preferred to play with each other than with the others their age. The others just seemed to be too boring and never wanted to go where the twins wanted to go or do the daring and often forbidden things the twins wanted to do. Today was no exception.
The labored through the heavy underbrush in the Gilgalley woods, working their way toward a spot Naiya had found in her explorations the day before. She was the more adventurous of the two and often went off on jaunts by herself; an act which drove both her parents and her brother to distraction. It had been on this recent outing that she claims to have seen a creature heretofore thought only to exist in folklore and legend.
“Come on Valen. You’re slowing me down. I want to get back there and see if I can see it again and see if there’s more of them.”
“You’re not going to see more, not even one. There is no such thing.” Valen huffed along after his sister. A branch swung back and slapped at his face but he ducked just in time to avoid being hit. “Not funny,” he hissed as Naiya’s giggles floated back to him.
“We’re almost there. The pond is just up here. That’s where I saw it yesterday.” Her voice had gotten farther ahead, and Valen made an effort to speed up and catch her. As he stumbled through some more underbrush, Naiya admonished him to be quieter. “You’ll scare them off if they are there. Now come on. We can hide right here where I was yesterday. We may have to wait.”
Valen finally caught up with his sister and found her crouched down behind several large boulders. There was plenty space for both of them and he hunkered down beside her, peering through the spaces between the rocks. Not far in front of them, a large pond was nestled among several huge trees and was bordered by a large grassy park like area with a small stretch of sandy beach along one side. The water sparkled in the sun, a light breeze just riffling the surface. Birds could be heard in the trees and now and then a fish jumped in the pond. It was tranquil spot, beautiful and definitely conducive to encouraging thoughts of mythical creatures. He was enjoying the peaceful solitude, when Naiya suddenly stiffened beside him.
“Listen, you can hear something coming,” she whispered.
Valen strained his ears to hear what she was hearing and sure enough, a faint sound of something moving through the trees drifted across the open glade. To him, it sounded as if there might be more than one, and there were other noises associated with the movement as well; noises he could not interpret. Both sets of eyes were trained on the copse of trees immediately across the water from their hiding place. The noises grew louder more distinct. There was more than one. As Valen watched, two figures emerged from the trees and made their way to the water’s edge. He blinked several times as if to clear his head of this vision of myth come to reality. He could feel his sister’s triumphant smile beside him.
“Still say they don’t exist?” she whispered quietly. “Hey, why don’t we see if we can catch them?”
“Are you crazy? Don’t they like, bite or something? Or breathe fire?”
“I don’t know. But, look, they’re just little ones. We could catch them and take them home. Come on,” she cajoled, “no one’s going to believe us if we don’t show them one, or two.” She turned her clear green eyes on her brother. “Please?”
As always, he caved. “Okay. Just be careful. Come on.”
Side by side, they crept quietly out of the shelter of the boulders. The two figures on the bank of the pond showed no signs of being aware of anything out of the ordinary and continued to splash and play in the water. Naiya and Valen were within just a few yards when the two by the pond suddenly looked up and saw their uninvited guests. They both froze. Naiya and Valen froze. The four figures stared at each other and the silence between them stretched and stretched until it seemed as if the whole world had fallen silent.
Suddenly, the two figures by the water broke their silence and their stillness. In a dazzling splash of water and unearthly roars of fear, the two sped back into the trees and could be heard crashing through in a frenzy to get away. Neither Naiya nor Valen followed. After a few moments, the distant sounds of retreat faded and the twins turned back toward home. Naiya seemed quite dejected.
“Well, at least you believe me now,” she said. Valen nodded and followed his sister home.
Half a mile away, two figures emerged from the woods, panting and sweating in fear. They finally pulled up to catch their breath and looked behind for signs of pursuit. They looked at each other, and both begin to laugh in spite of the fright they had just experienced. The girl spoke first.
“Hey, can you believe that? Dragons! Nobody is going to believe we just saw two dragons by the lake.”
“I know. Mom’s gonna think we’re crazy or lying.”
“Yeah, so maybe we just won’t tell.” Allison got that look in her eye. “Hey, why don’t we . . .”
“No. We’re not going back.” Brandon held up a hand to stop his twin sister. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but we are not going back.”
“Please?” She turned clear green eyes on her brother.
As always, he caved. “Okay. Tomorrow. “
Smiling, Allison turned and headed for their village. Brandon followed, shaking his head in resignation.
