September Contest Runner Ups
I've had several requests to reveal the runner ups for the September writing contest. Many of you remember the contest where I challenged you to compose a short story, poem, article, etc. based on the picture of a young woman kneeling by a small water hole. And so, your wish is but my command!
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the top eight finalists (in no particular order) . . .
[image error]
*******************************************************************
The Woman in the Clearing
By: Katie Melssen
Out of breath and scared I stumbled out of the woods and into a small clearing. The clearing was almost like a field, it even had the remains of a fence on one side. In the middle of the clearing there was a gorgeous woman with long golden brown hair next to a small pool of water. On her knee there was a black raven and the woman was talking to the bird, as she gazed at her own reflection in the pool. Curious as to what she was saying to the raven I slowly eased my way from the woods toward her. I had taken about three steps and was close enough to hear what the mysterious lady was saying, when she abruptly got up from the pond. I froze, sure that I had been caught and was going to get in trouble for disturbing her. Instead of turning and looking at me, she walked into the pond and disappeared.
Wasting no time I ran to the small pond, and gazed into. At first I saw only my reflection, and then slowly I watched as the water rippled and the image of the beautiful woman appeared. She was different however; looking at her in the pool she appeared much older and somehow wiser. Just as I was about to leave the strange pond and the woman, she lifted an arm and slowly beckoned to me. Not sure what to do and afraid to go back into the woods, I walked into the shallow pond. At first I felt myself sinking into the sand and then I suddenly felt my body getting pulled through the bottom of the pond and into a new world.
********************************************************************
Frozen Sleep
By: Scarlet Rain
You said you'd wait for me in your frozen sleep. At the bottom of the well. The promises you sung lulled me. You'd kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep. But now I return them. Everything. I had waited for you for days. But you never showed your face. So now I walk alone. How could you make walk alone? No one by my side. This light gives no warmth. This bird gives no hope. This is where we use to play. We'd laugh and be young. But now the once lush trees are dead like your body. But when I look down I see you smiling. Smiling at me. I loved your smile. I still love it. So I smile back. But now you smile waiting for me in your frozen sleep. At the bottom of the well...
********************************************************************
Whispers
By Cara A. Brooks
Those are what surrounded her. They spelled the air and ruffled the feathers of the bird on her knee. The bird they sent to her.
They watched, silent and unmoving, as the pale girl with the pale dress and the pale skin reached out to the surface of the pond. The pond that was not. For they knew, as they knew all else, what the pond held.
They had seen everything, heard everything, for the past millennium. Or the past two or three. They were as old as time itself. For time was their father… and their mother? Nature.
So yes, they had seen many things. They had even seen the creatures that had by-passed time. The creatures whose world the girl was about to enter. And they would’ve stopped her. If they could.
But they couldn’t. So they had sent their bird. An animal borne of the wind, but loyal to everything beneath it. They had tried to warn her, speaking in their ancient tones and magical slurs, but she would not listen. No one would. Even as their race dwindled, trying to fight an enemy that hadn’t waged war, only a few would heed their plea. This girl was not one of them.
What a foolish girl to be reeled in by the creatures’ allure. The allure of never-ending beauty, of timelessness. Why should she follow those unnatural creatures when beauty and timelessness lay right before her eyes?
But it was already too late for her.
She stood, taking one last breath, and then plunged into the mirror world.
Another soul lost. They looked on mournfully, the toll of being timeless coming due yet again.
Knowledge was a heavy burden. A burden carried on their leaves and branches, in their roots. A burden carried only by trees.
********************************************************************
The Puddle of Love
By Meegan Griffin
Every whisper of wind, I heard your name
Every cloud dance across the sky is like you and I.
Dusk is a moment only for us
Flowers spring up from where we were, as if earth misses you as much I do.
The animals you saved sing of sorrow.
I keep the raven, for he shows the love we had
His raven feathers remind me of your hair.
We saved him, the way I wish I could’ve saved you.
Time continued, and life went on.
My patched heart will forever hold scars of our, once, love.
Today, like the day we met,
Where the trees whispered secrets,
As wind danced to music,
On day, my last tear would be shed.
Dress of white, rippling in the light breeze,
Raven and I went behind the darkened woods
To the puddle of memories,
To tears I cried, the love I had, the magic of you.
As my last tear falls from my finger into a puddle I made,
Into a hole Mother Earth made, for the loss of you
A Whisper slips from my lips, a whisper only you would know, my love.
********************************************************************
A Fairy's Dream
by Kayslee Decker
Cassian stared at her reflection in the deep black water of the pool. The face that looked back at her was pale and tired, not very queen-like. Yet that's what she was: queen of the Fairies, Empress of the Glade, and Lady of the Forest.
Thunder rolled in the distance, heralding the approach of the impending storm. “We must return,” she said to the raven perched at her side, rising and unfurling her wings. Lantern in hand, Queen Cassian took off into the deepening gloom.
The thunder grew louder as Cassian and Lawrence flew on. By the time they reached the Oak, fat raindrops had begun to fall. The two barely reached the Oak's towering front doors before the storm arrived.
An onslaught of rain, wind, and debris pounded against the walls of the Oak, causing fairy residents to tremble in their beds. “How many this time?” Cassian asked of Lawrence, her best adviser and closest friend.
“I fear Lord Ethros sets his entire army upon us,” he replied grimly. Cassian shuddered, then steeled herself; she mustn't show weakness.
“Alert the army,” she said. “It's going to be a long night.”
Just as Cassian feared, the entire army of Ethra was in full attack. Enemies were falling right and left, but more kept coming. The fairy army fought bravely, but the battle would soon be over. Suddenly, an especially loud shout was heard over the melee:
“The queen! Kill the queen!” Lord Ethros sped toward Queen Cassian, his dark fingers sparking with deadly lightning. Cassian screamed, loud and shrill, as Lord Ethros sent a fatal bolt of electricity toward her heart--”
Queen Cassian sat bolt upright, gasping for breath. Her terrified scream still echoed in her sunlit bedchamber; it had been a dream.
********************************************************************
Raven
By: Julia Feidler
I look down at my reflection in the spring pool. A girl with long golden hair stares back. Her eyes look tired and are brimming with frustration. By looking at her, you couldn’t see the power and knowledge inside of her. I closed my eyes and resented my power.
I came from a line of people that could speak to birds. Each of us can speak to a different kind of bird and the birds, they talk of secrets; big secrets, little secrets, any secret. They appear when you are born and that’s what you are named. You would think that it would be glorious to know everyone’s secret, but it’s not. I’m sick of know who’s having an affair with whom and who’s is going bankrupt.
I look up, take in my surroundings. The sky is blue but dark, clouds are rolling in, causing the trees around me to look dark and menacing. The ground is covered in soft grass and white wildflowers dot the landscape. Ever since I was little I dreamt of this place, there was only one thing missing… the boy who haunts these dreams. In the dreams he was always here, he talked to me and comforted me when the stress of it all was too much.
I heard the caw of a raven. Ebony, my best friend, flew up and perched on my knee. She stayed silent knowing that’s what I needed. Suddenly there was a crunch at the edge of the woods. I stood up and Ebony flew up to my shoulder. I waited and finally a boy stepped into the dim light. My heart stopped, it was the boy from my dreams and in his hand was one red rose. “Hello, Raven”.
********************************************************************
My Love Belongs To You
By Sarina Mims
As I look into the water
In this lonely desolate place,
I can’t help but imagine
Being in your warm and strong embrace.
Everywhere I look
I see your bright and gentle eyes.
Full of sorrow and of longing,
For the love that I disguise.
Anytime you smile
It sends goose bumps down my arms.
I try to act unfazed
But I crave your intoxicating charm.
If only you could see
The lies that I repeat,
We could be together
Instead of feeling incomplete.
But here I am pondering
If life would be askew,
If instead of with your brother
I was betrothed towards you.
Back as I look into the water
In this cold, foreboding place,
I have finally decided
My heart is in misplace.
The truth is that I love you
And that I denied my heart
When it tried to tell me
We were wrong to be apart
Now that I have listened
To my heart that beats for you
I can’t help but deny
My love belongs to you
********************************************************************
Midnight Enchantment
By: McKayla Michener
Down below, the earth so far
Bathed in the light by the glow of a star
A young girl sat with a lamp like jar.
A perfect circle for a midnight dance,
A single black crow, wings a fan,
A single pool of glass.
Meadow full of luscious grass
As bare feet disturb the stillness as they pass
Lost in thought they dash.
Trees stand, bare of leaves;
Just bones of what they use to be,
like silent guards of the unknown
They never groan or moan.
As a cool breeze stills in the midnight air
The clouds a glow; not from the sun’s stare
The girl with amber waves dares
Look into the depths below to see what it bares.
In the pool, a light in the night
The crow begins to toll
A midnight enchantment lures all those close.
There you have it, the top 8 short stories/poems. Please remember that there were hundreds of submissions, so many of which were quite creative and well thought out! Keep it up!
Till next time~
Linda Louise Lotti
