Creative Stories
1. bobkitty1123
Story: The snow dripped slowly down onto the ground, turning dirt to mud as the sun beat down on the pine forest. The lake shimmered with the glow of upcoming spring. Clouds floated lazily through the sky, dyed pink by rising sun. The earth was fresh, alive and smelled of lilacs and clovers. Birds flew back from their long winter spent in the southern regions.
Cloaked figures moved through the trees, chanting softly and carrying wands carved in the shapes of flowing snakes. Some carried one while other sported too and many had ruby or emerald eyes that glinted. Toes sunk into thick mud and cloaks snagged on thistles. The cloaks were black or in various shades of blue or green. Each was adorned with stitching or beads.
It was a mound, a simple mound it appeared. But this was no ordinary mound of dirt. It was home to a creature both horrendous and beautiful; a creature of theTuatha Dé Danann, the people of the gods; a creature that had a purpose more important than that of which the people believed her to have.
The cloaked figures gathered around the mound and watched eagerly for her arrival. She was believed to be inside the mound, hibernating through the long winter but rather she spent it at her true home with her mother, Brighid. She came only on St. Patrick’s Day to visit those who still believed in her. Many lost faith her years ago when St. Patrick chased her and her kind from the land. Ever since the day was a memorial to him and his many great feats and ever since she came to crawl out of her mound bringing with her Spring.
Flower seeds in her satchel, sunshine in her eyes and warmth in her hands, she came. Forth from the mound, she rose accepting the flowers that her cloaked followers lay before her. From the waist up she was beautiful maiden with long red hair and a gorgeous green top adorned with gold. Atop her head rested a crown of green and gold weaved intricately. Her eyes were yellow and rimmed with red paints that stood out against her pale skin. From the waist down she was not human but rather possessed a long green serpent’s tail.
She was once the Queen of the Leprechauns’, lovely and fair. A lie led to crime and she was punished. She fell in love with a human, something forbidden. She gave away her pot of gold to the man she loved and thus her soul. Now forever trapped to the earth, never to die or love. She was given the tail of the snake by the gods, a horrible fate. Her kindness prevailed though, reaching the heart of one Goddess, Brighid. She imbued the poor girl with the Spirit of spring and gave her a purpose once again.
The cloaked figures bowed before her, continuing their chant both heartbreaking and eerie. She smiled down at them radiating love and light. The humans believed that she merely showed the start of Spring. Little did they realize that she was Spring. She smiled and accepted their offer of fruits from the last harvest in the Fall. She touched each person on the brow as they threw back their hoods, blessing them.
Soon each left, leaving her resting. She warmed her tail and her flesh, longing for legs but grateful for purpose. She laid down, resting her head upon her hands. She watched a butterfly flutter softly to her and she held it on the tip of her nose. She mourned those who spent the day worshipping St. Patrick. She didn’t hate him but she saw his doings as wrong. But how can you hate that which doesn’t believe it is bad? Chasing her children from the land seemed to him to be the right thing to do.
Ethelinda. The voice called in her head, gently whispering her name.
Yes, Mother? The snake maiden said back softly responding to Brighid’s call.
You have done me proud, my lovely.
Can I be human once again, Mother? She said, earnestly. She wanted to die but she couldn’t. It seemed a strange thing to wish but she had been in the world for too many Springs. Her time was up but she couldn’t leave. It pained her to stay each year after year. The calm embrace of silence was all she wished to have.
I’m afraid that that is something I cannot give you, my dear. I know what you want but it is something I am not allowed to give you. Please accept my humblest apologies for making you suffer so.
Ethelinda curled up her tail underneath her, pushing Brighid out of her mind. She didn’t want to hear excuses. She wanted relief. She pressed her face into her hands and tears ran down her cheeks in streams. Painful shudders shook her body as her sobs overtook her. A hand touched her tail and she raised her head. A young girl stood there with golden hair and bright green eyes. She hadn’t seen this girl before but accepted the package she presented.
Ethelinda unwrapped the cloth as the girl ran back into the trees. A golden dagger lay in her hands. She had never thought to try Earthly means to take her life, to feel the sweet embrace of eternal rest. What would happen to a soulless body? At this point, that was a little matter to her. She could destroy her physical body and slip into the abyss of darkness that she longed for.
The dagger was positioned over her heart. Her hands sweat profusely but she wouldn’t back down. She felt eyes on her back as she pulled the dagger away from her slowly. The blade glinted in the light. I’m doing the right thing, she assured herself. Nothing should live this long. She heard the girl gasp as she plunged the knife downward.
