The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

The story as written  
by Alex Grehy

In utero, a daughter’s story is written, 

tattooed on her face, her body. 

.

Long needles penetrating the womb, 

leaking ink turning birth water black, 

sign of a job well done. Enough survive

the violation to perpetuate the species. 

But the boys are born unsullied – they

write their own futures.

.

Girls must follow the script. 

.

As she dutifully touches each milestone 

a line will vanish, leaving her face clear and 

lovely for her wedding day; the birth of her

children is etched on her belly, the last to fade.

After that? Can she then write her own story? 

Will she have enough strength?

.

But what of this daughter? 

.

Destined for marriage, husband named at 

her birth, waiting, hungry and lustful for his 

rightful bride. Do you think she is the first to 

claw at her face, to tear her fate from her skin? 

Do you think she can win? 

.

Their ink has sunk into the bone, her nails will 

have to dig deep, create gnarly scars. 

Will they scribe a new fortune? 

If she escapes, who will save her?

Will she be pitied, reviled by her saviours? 

What if she’s caught? 

What if she’s sent to be bride to a beast, who craves a woman,

doesn’t care for her face, tears her to pieces?

.

This daughter, her future before her, is she asking these questions? 

.

No. 

.

Her desire for freedom overwhelms all reason, not knowing 

her long nails are a test not an ornament. 

.

All her stories are written, 

which one will she live?

.

Fiction © Copyright Alex Grehy
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from author Alex Grehy:

Thoughts, Prayers and Other Curses

Alex Grehy (she/her) enjoys writing quirky, thought-provoking horror. Widely published, her latest collection of short stories, Thoughts, Prayers and Other Curses is disturbing, clever and darkly entertaining – a wickedly imaginative journey through ten stories where time and technology have given humankind the chance to be kind, but why bother when there’s always an option to be beastly?

Available on Amazon!