The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

The Deer Lady 
by Elaine Pascale 

The drums beat loudly and she dances. Lost in the rhythm, she does not seem to notice those around her. She does not pay attention when the man in the hat shoves his date or when the man with the moustache calls his wife a “bitch.”

She dances as long as the drums play, her feet sounding like tap shoes even though they are clad only in tightly-bound wraps.

“You a China doll?” the man in the hat sneers.

“Look at her tiny feet.” Moustache man laughs.

They stop talking when her hips make small circles. They become so hypnotized by her gyrations that they forget to bully the women with them.

“Do not follow her into the woods,” the bartender warns when the drumming stops and the men settle their tabs.

“Do not follow her into the woods,” the regulars repeat.

The men do not listen. Later, their bodies are found, trampled by cloven feet.

No matter how old she becomes, she dances whenever there is a drum beat. Her hips still follow a sensuous rhythm that makes those who watch forget her age. Her feet tap within the bindings, hiding the secret dangers that begin when the drums stop.

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Fiction © Copyright Elaine Pascale
Image courtesy of Pixaby.com

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