The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

The Weird Man 
by Terrie Leigh Relf

“Mamma! Mamma! Come quick! That weird man is here again.”

                Elie’s mother ran out on the porch where her daughter and Katya were playing. She grabbed the girls close and looked into the distance where they pointed, but all she saw was shadows, all she heard was a faint rustling of oak leaves.

                 “It appears that he is gone now. It’s almost dark, so come inside.”

                “But you believe us, don’t you?” Katya pouted. “He just stares at us and it makes me sick to my stomach. Does he want to hurt us? Is he a bad man?”

                Elie’s mother beckoned for the girls to sit on the couch. “I don’t know yet, but how about this? Tomorrow evening when you play on the porch, I’ll sit right by the door. Maybe I’ll see him.”

                The girls nodded. “May we have supper now?” they chimed. “It smells so good . . .”

                “Of course, and then I’ll read you a few myths or fairy tales before bed.”

***

The next evening, the girls were playing with glass marbles, rolling a few of them around and around and around in ceramic bowls. Another bowl was practically overflowing with the shiny, multi-hued orbs which glimmered beneath the fading sun.

                Elie’s mother sat just inside the doorway, watching, waiting, to see if He would appear. She had an excellent idea of who, or most likely, what, had been lurking about.

                “Girls,” she whispered. “When I tap three times on the door jamb, I want you to . . .”

                The girls nodded and cast furtive glances toward the large oak at the edge of their property.

                As the weird man appeared through the shadows, Elie’s mother knocked three times. The girls immediately knocked over the bowl of marbles which rolled and spun off the porch and into the grass.

                She pulled the girls into the kitchen and mouthed, “watch.”

                Moaning with pleasure, the weird man threw himself to the ground, then began to count each marble, forming them into a pile.

                Ironically, the promised storm had arrived, the winds whipping the marbles this way and that, leading the man into the forest to chase after all of his shiny bits.

                “And that, dear girls, is one way to rid yourself of vampires. If he comes back, I’ll chop his head off!”

 

Fiction © Copyright Terrie Leigh Relf
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com 

More from author Terrie Leigh Relf:

The Sisterhood of the Blood Moon

For thousands of Earth years, the Transgalactic Consortium has had a quiet interest in this planet and its inhabitants, the Haurans. While the Sisterhood of the Blood Moon works together with the Consortium and Haurans to maintain balance in the universe, the Blood Moon is fast approaching. The power of this moon reveals untold secrets . . . including a sacred covenant with the Mora Spiders. There is an ancient pact that needs to be honored—but at what cost and for whose purpose? The world may come to an end. But will there be a chance for a new beginning?

Available for purchase from Hiraeth Publishing!