The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!
Nesta’s Nice Nature Storybook
by Alex Grey
“Look, I’ve bought us a new book – I thought we might read it together.”
“Reading is boring.”
“But this is all about a little girl like you. She’s called Nesta and it’s the story of the nature walk she went on with her mummy.”
“A girl just like me?”
“Well, Nesta didn’t go wandering in the woods by herself; she went with her mummy and saw lots of interesting things that weren’t creepy at all.”
“Nature wouldn’t exist without creepy crawlies!”
“On her walk Nesta greeted all the cute woodland animals. See, there she is saying ‘Hello, Mr Squirrel’ and on the next page she’s saying ‘Hello, Mr Fox’.”
“That’s stupid, animals can’t talk, they’re scared of little girls.”
“Well, maybe they’re just scared of you…maybe if you said ‘hello’ nicely instead of throwing stones…”
“It’s not my fault! They hiss at me when I go past!”
“O-kay. Shall we see what else Nesta finds in the forest?”
“I expect there’ll be monsters next.”
“Honestly, not everything is horrible monsters, this is a nice nature book.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Look, here’s the next page, Nesta and her mummy decide to call in on grandma for a glass of milk and some cookies. Hang on, that doesn’t look like a grandma’s cottage.”
“It looks like a monster’s house.”
“Don’t be silly.”
“Monsters have the best houses, I can see them peeking out.”
“I can’t see any monsters, you’re just making things up. Shall we turn the page and see what sort of cookies Nesta finds?”
“The cookies will eat her up.”
“Really, that’s enough! This is a kind book.”
“Oh yes, it’s my new favourite. That house looks so real I bet we could step right inside.”
“Hmmm, maybe we should stop reading now, it is late.”
“No! I want to go there – hold my hand!”
“Ouch, don’t grab like that!”
“Come on mummy.”
“No, I don’t want to go! Wait!”
“There, now we’re in the forest for real.”
“What have you done, you little beast?”
“I told you reading was boring; now we can visit the monsters.”
“Take me back!”
“Oh no mummy, I think we should go in the house – I expect they’ll bake you into excellent cookies. In you go…”
Fiction © Copyright Alex Grey
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
More about Alex Grey:
After a lifetime of writing technical non-fiction, Alex Grey is fulfilling her dream of writing poems and stories that engage the reader’s emotions. Her work has been featured by a wide range of publications including Siren’s Call, Raconteur, Bookends Review, and Toasted Cheese. One of her comic poems is also available via a worldwide network of public fiction dispensers managed by French publisher, Short Edition. Her ingredients for contentment are narrow boating, greyhounds, singing and chocolate. It is a sweet life, yet Alex’ original view of the world has led to her best friend to say ‘For someone so lovely, you’re very twisted!
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Very creepy, I loved it.