The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Mighty is the Gentle Step
by Bailey Hunter

“Watch where you step, Throlen!”

Throlen looked at his feet and saw the tiny hut surrounded by even smaller creatures. “Why can’t I just walk, Mamma? What difference does it make? I’m tired of tiptoeing around all the time!”

Even at his size, he was still a child and whined like one too. Throlen’s mother sighed and a west wind blew.  “Because, even though they are very small, they are dangerous to us. We respect the little beings so they will let us be.” Engrood sighed again. Was she ever this troublesome? She watched as her impetuous son hovered his foot over the village in jest.

“THROLEN. Enough.” Engrood straightened her back so that her moss decorated hair touched the clouds. “Do you wish me to take you home, and leave you there the next time we gather food? Or do you wish to start a war with the tiny creatures and then explain to the clan why we are all dying? Or… will you listen to your mamma and stop acting like an angry Nisse?”

Engrood stared at her son with the terrifying look only a mother can truly give.  He bowed his head and moved his foot to an open field. “Yes, mamma.  Sorry mamma.”

“Mamma? How can something so small hurt us? I don’t understand. If we were at war with these things, couldn’t we just crush them all and be done?”

“No, Throlen. They seem small, but they are like the snowflakes – small and seemingly unimportant – until they keep coming. They grow in numbers, they are relentless, and their tiny heads are full of terrible thoughts. Trust me, Throlen.” A thick, gelatinous tear rolled down Engrood’s cheek.

“Your father thought them weak and unimportant, too. He walked as he wanted, where he wanted – and this is why he walks no more.  This is why he is nothing more than a pile of rocks and a story of warning to our clan.”

Throlen reached up for his mamma’s trembling hand. She took it, and gently smiled down at her son. “Be wise, my son, for mighty is the gentle step. Come now, the sun is nearly up. It’s time to go home and sleep.”

Fiction © Copyright Bailey Hunter
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More about Bailey Hunter:
Bailey is a publisher with Dark Recesses Press.

Dark Recesses Press is a publishing house dedicated to providing high quality dark fiction in its many forms to the reader. Our end goal is to impress and entertain, no matter what dark recesses we dare shine our light on.

DarkRecessesPress.com