The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

The Gift of Fear
by Angela Yuriko Smith

The sun is caught by the moon, a silver ghost of himself trapped in the scry glass of night. The shadows gather in the branches until every leaf becomes a tiny mouth swallowing light as clouds leave ash-white bruises across the stars. The old oak reaches out, grasping to claim the light for himself, but he can only move in increments of waiting and the moon remains free. I am reduced to silhouette: the path, the horizon, my past life, and I am satisfied to be a shade, slipping through dreams that bear the weight of the world…

…but the dreams bare the weight of the world as well, leaving the secrets exposed, trembling, with no reality to hide them. From an open window I hear the cry of a child in restless sleep. The cruel day has exposed the cracks in his world and the nightmares race through his dream, devouring the light as the moon devours the sun. This is a bitter vintage, an aperitif of fear that curdles his blood and wakes the house. I could take the terror and grant this boy a peaceful sleep, but I don’t steal candy from children. 

Fear comes for us all.
The sapling wilts, unwatered
if there are no tears.

Fiction © Copyright Angela Yuriko Smith
Image © Copyright Rie Sheridan Rose

More from Angela Yuriko Smith:

Angela Yuriko Smith is a two-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author, former president of the Horror Writers Association, and publisher of Space & Time through Authortunities Press. She helps writers build sustainable creative careers through Authortunities on Substack. To connect, visit authortunitiespress.com.