Beyond the Marsh

I was in the marshes. A dreadful gloom hung over everything, in every fiber of the drooping moss, in every bit bog that sucked at my feet, in every dead tree that stood crookedly, all around. It was in the mist that I despised more than the rest of it, which shielded my eyes from finding my way in the infernal marsh.

The sickly green water hardly stirred in the bogs, yet I fancied that I could see something moving in it, another sort of being, trapped under them, eternally watching. I passed along precariously close to the water's edge, carefully placing my feet, lest I should fall in.

I was startled by the sudden appearance of another person in the marshes, my father. I cried out a warning to him, not to tread in the bogs, but no sooner than the words left my lips, he turned and began to sink. He did not make any movement or even attempt to slow his decent into the suffocating bog. He looked balefully at me as he sank, his overcoat weighing him down.

"Father, Father!" I shouted, hurrying to him as fast as I could.

By the time I reached him, the murky water was up to his mustache. His pale blue eyes stared sorrowfully up at me as he succumb to the bog. The last I saw of him was his top hat, which was afloat for a second before disappearing as well.

Utterly terrified now, I tried to get away from the swamp as quickly as possible, but became disorientated by the fog. Even though I knew it was too late for my father, I resolved to try to find help and at least recover his poor body.

Eventually, I found my way out of the marshes and out of the woods after hours of toiling. Above me, rose a hill, and I set to climbing it, for a farm was lighted atop it. By the time I reached the top, I thought my lungs would burst.

Now that I could see the farm properly, I noticed that there was no house, only a barn, a paddock, and some hay stacked outside. Intrigued as every small girl is by horses, I approached the paddock fence. From a distance, I could long make out the long, flowing, brown and black manes of what I thought were ponies. These creatures, apparently curious, approached and I saw that they were no horses at all. The only thing pretty about them was their hair, which nearly dragged the ground in silky, perfect waves. I recoiled at their ugly faces which appeared to resemble green, wrinkly humans with huge eyes and sunspots. They wore tattered blouses and ragged trousers, though by their hair I would have deemed them female. The gathered around the fence, starring intently at me, stretching their necks for a better look.

Disgusted, I back away, hoping to find their keeper in the barn. Instead, I found more of them peering at me through the crack in the door. I gasped as I came face to face with them, their large yellow eyes so frighteningly big. I began to walk away, heart pounding as I tried not to run but remain calm, lest I excite these horrendous creatures.

As I passed the stack of hay, I heard a rustling and spun about to see something running at me. In a glance, I determined that this was not a human either. Its skin was a bright blue, brighter than the denim overalls which it wore. There were horns not unlike a bull's which protruded from its head. It was caring a pitchfork and running like mad after me.

I sprinted down the hill, looking back in fear. I caught my shoe in my mud stained dress and went tumbling down. I rolled a ways down the hill before falling into a deep sinkhole at the edge of the woods. If only I could have led the creature to the marshes, maybe I would have lost it in the mists or tricked it into a bog.

I could hear it bearing down on me, snorting and bellowing like a bull. I looked up to see it stop, standing above the sinkhole and thrust its pitchfork into my chest as I screamed.