Ahh. That time of year again. The crispness of approaching winter in the air, a relief after the slop of soggy leaves underfoot. A sinuous mist that hung and curled, cat-soft around the corners of the city streets.
The veil is thin at this time of year, and as he thought, so he stretched his wings, the grimy sandstone rippling into leathery life. He turned his head, grating and grinding. Perhaps a good year to fly, although the last time he had ventured forth was when good King Richard ruled. He had seen what had passed since and decided, yes, a good night to fly.
Creaking and stretching he extended one scaly leg to his left, balancing, then β away. His powerful wings beat away the layers of time that had settled like a second skin and carried him up. Up, and over the city.
He noted how it had grown, the small mean buildings had given way to brick built structures and gleaming glass towers, far more splendid than his own humble church. Surely these splendid buildings were houses of happiness and joy, and his stony heart swelled with the thought that people had discovered how to live together with love and kindness.
But as he flew, silver threads of thoughts and scenes drifted up to him. He saw:
young men, reeling, drunk
girls, staggering, vomiting
children, crying in pain and fear
dogs whimpering in fright
women, weeping in the cold
And then. He saw a tall man, bending over the body of a woman. He paused, outside the window of the house. He watched, as the man delivered one final punch to the womanβs face, and as he stood upright he licked the blood from his knuckles with relish and saw the silent watcher at the window.
Their eyes met and held and the watcher knew fear, the spine creeping chill of evil and despair. He let his wings carry him away from those eyes, cold and stony dead.
Now whoβs the monster
Brilliant writing. π§
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Thank you very much – very kind πΊ
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The story gave me shivers, Samantha. Very well done! Pawkisses for a Happy Weekend π β€
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Thank you very much πΊπxxx
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Whoa. That sent a chill up my spine! Excellent scene, my dear friend.
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Lol – suitably themed for the Halloween month! ππ±ππ± πΈπxxx
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Spooky and thought-provoking! Well done π
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Thank you very much – very kind! πΊπxx
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You’re welcome π
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That was very dark, Samantha. I liked it though.
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Thank you very much – I am pleased you enjoyed it! ππ»πΉ
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OOOOOooooooo…. what a spine chilling bit of temptation. It ‘felt’ like a taster for a new TV series. Something which I would have programmed the TV thingy to ‘record and remind’.
GREAT bit of writing Miss Samantha. I loved it!
~ Cobs. x π»π»π»
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Lol – a great compliment and comment! Thank you very much πΊπxxx
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I love the descriptions in this, it sends wonderful images to my mind! And sadly it’s true some humans can be more monstrous than actual monsters. πΆ
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Thank you very much, I do like descriptions, and I am pleased you enjoyed the read πΊπxx
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πΊβ€οΈ
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A potent story about the outsider, and how easily we become accustomed to the way things are.
I’d enjoy seeing more of this character from another world.
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Thank you very much – I hadn’t considered any more stories with the watchful gargoyle…but now I might! πΊ
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I think gargoyles are an underutilized mythical creature. They’re often simplified to “another mindless beast” or “evil creature”, but I really like the more ambiguous renditions, like the 90s animated series. One of the things that really struck me about that version was how the gargoyles didn’t heal as we do, but if they could survive until they turned to stone for the day, then in the following evening they would awaken completely restored. That kind of “stronger but also more vulnerable” characteristic always makes mythical creatures more interesting to me.
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I hadn’t thought of that – interesting..I wanted to illustrate the point that the monsters in our world aren’t always the readily visible ones, you express that beautifully. I vaguely remember that series..
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Thank you, that is a most kind compliment, though I feel you deserve it more than I. It’s your story that engages the protagonist’s outsider perspective. which is part of what makes me want to read more. It’s clear that this is a wise character, with many years of experience to guide him. I imagine he has more than a few stories to tell.
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