The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

The Solitary Man 
by Elaine Pascale 

.The Solitary Man walked the mossy shores which always brought him both sadness and a sense of peace. He was sad because he was alone but content because he knew his days would eventually end.

He stumbled upon a beautiful faery who said she could tell him a story.

He looked at her glossy gossamer wings and replied, “I have a story of my own. I replay the story of my life daily. It reminds me of how I got to be so alone. I don’t need to hear any other stories.”

Before he could walk on, she took a deep breath and sucked up all the water from the area to her right, exposing fish and snails and crabs. “Let me fill your stomach,” she called sweetly, swallowing the water to make the path clear.

“It is my heart that is empty, not my stomach,” the man said, taking in her emerald eyes.

She took another deep breath and sucked up all the water from the area to her left, exposing a chest full of gold. “Let me give you wealth,” she offered, swallowing more water so that he could grab the riches she guarded.

“I have no one to share it with.” He knew that her prizes did not come for free. Moreover, there was not enough money in the world to buy back all that he had lost.

The faery smiled. She knew how to secure this soul. “Let me cuddle you and drown you with kisses.”

The man went happily into her arms, understanding that it wouldn’t be kisses that she drowned him with.

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Fiction © Copyright Elaine Pascale
Image courtesy of Pixaby.com

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