Voices of the Wind

Summer 2020 24-Hour Short Story Contest!!

Title: Voices of the Wind

MSWord Count: 927

Contest: 24-Hour Short Story Contest! Summer 2020

Topic!:

Use the sample below and incorporate it into your story.

The townsfolk talked but she didn't care. Day after day, she lugged her saw, a bucket, a homemade fishing pole, and bait across the frozen lake. Once there, she sat shivering while waiting for the telltale tug from a creature of the deep. This torturous task wasn't for the fairer sex but what choice did she have? On that particular day, as clouds and a north wind rolled in from the mountains, she noticed two little boys at the edge of the lake, shouting and pointing...

CRUCIAL HINT! You are very likely thinking the boys are pointing at thin ice, or that someone fell through the ice. The fact is, that's what MOST people reading this topic are also thinking! You should probably take this story in a different direction, don't ya think? (Wink wink!!)

Voices Of The Wind

"The spell caught her," said the whispers of the townsfolk. "Never thought we would have one on our lands."

Everyday Agalyn would lug her equipment down to the frozen lake: saw, bucket, bait, a homemade fishing pole; and she would listen to the murmurs as she went. They even watched her from the lake's edge as she sat shivering and waiting for the telltale tug of the creature.

It was torturous to come to the lake each day, being pulled by the voices which would never allow her to rest. Ushered away from her warm home and family.

"Don't get too near her," the passerby cautioned each other, "or you'll be cursed."

"She's waiting for that North wind."

And that particular wind finally came, rolling down from the mountains and signaled by two little boys shouting and pointing at the signs that the magical wind brought with it.

Light glittered around the halo of the trees leaves. A bellowing sound grew from the depths of the frozen earth, and rose to the chilled skies as Agalyn's gripped the fishing pole.

This part of the task was not easy for the fairer sex, as her dreamed warned her seasons ago.

Whipping her pole into the magical North wind, it was caught and she struggled and pulled. Once close, she slammed the bucket over its body, leaving its wings exposed. Grabbing the hilt, she sawed off a feather, the same as she had done with the creatures in the previous seasons. The first bird was the color of shimmering silver; the second was glittering gold. The third was larger than the first two and it sparkled like a diamond. However, this fourth bird was grotesque and its putrid smelled made her want to vomit. Agalyn was glad to release it.

With an aching back and bruised hands, she slowly picked up the bucket, headed back into town, followed by the curious, fearful eyes and hushed voices.

She sighed as she entered the makeshift home her father had built away from the family home. It was just a shack, with the bare minimal of items to live. She no longer needed the fancy dresses, the picturesque parties, the awe-struck eyes. Her only clothes now were layered upon layers covering rips or torn clothes from what she had yanked down from her closet. Wrapped around her head and ears was a.... A dress? A shirt? Pants? She didn't know. What it was didn't matter, only that she needed to keep warm and to hide what was in her hair. Looking at the repugnant feather in her hand, she unwrapped her head and stabbed the quill into her scalp. She allowed the blood to fall as she had done with the other three feathers. If she did not, the voices would torture her with their screams.

"She was such a pretty thing," the townsfolk would sympathize. "A life to treasure."

"Such a shame to end this way."

Tired, she curled up on the floor, feeling the peacefulness of the silence of the voices. She finally rested.

When she woke, she knew, like the first three fish, that the months had passed and she would be in a new season. It was Spring.

Though the voices were no longer there, she knew what to do.

She heard the screams of pain as she burst into her father's house. The servants weren't able to stop her as she ran through the hallway, up the stairs and into the room. Her sister was there with the nurse and the doctor. The baby was crying. The blood was coming.

"Remove the rest of the pieces inside her!" Agalyn screamed at the doctor. "Do it! Now!"

The doctor looked at her shocked and simply mumbled. "It's too late."

"Do it!" She screamed at him again.

Her father came rushing in, followed by her uncles and her brother. They grabbed her and dragged her out of the room.

"Remove them!" She screamed at the doctor as the door shut away the sight of her sister.

She was thrown to the ground. "Get out of here," her father pleaded. "Just get out."

Slowly, she got to her feet and watched them brushed the dirt from their pants. She hobbled away.

Some months later, Agalyn saw her sister holding her nephew in her arms on the other side of the street. Her eyes shifted away from her.

It would be like this for a period of time, said the knowledge of the feathers that taught her since the bargain. Agalyn would be wanted like silver and gold, but scorned like pyrite. She would be sought after like diamonds, but feared like the shadows. She would be blamed, though she was innocent. She would save lives and she would warn before destroying them. But she would not always travel this path alone. There would be love, a birth, and friendship.

At least, that's what some of the voices had told her.