Jillian Chantal

This week’s word for Tuesday Tales is strap. I used a form of it as I couldn’t quite use just strap. This is my horror story that will be submitted this week to my publisher. The heroine has completed her first quest to save her friend from the fungus growing out of his eye and is on the second quest.

Check out the other tales here.

I glanced behind me and saw what she was truly fleeing. A massive man dressed in pants way too short for him lurched toward me. His huge feet practically shook the ground as he moved in my direction. My grandmother would call him a strapping lad.
Turning to run as well, I noticed his face as I made my pivot. It had to be the saddest face I’d ever seen.
Since I couldn’t imagine anyone that sad being mean, I stopped in my tracks and faced him.
He kept coming but I stood my ground.
When he was within a few feet of me, he said, “Ain’t you scared?”
“Do you want me to be?”
“Everybody else is. Why should you be different?” He glared at me as if that would make me run. Almost as if he wanted me to go even though I could tell he needed a friend. I’d seen this before at school. The kid who no one wanted to pick for their team or eat lunch with.
“I’m not afraid. I can see you’re lonely and need a friend. How about talking to me for a minute?”
Tears formed in the big guys eyes but he didn’t let them fall. “What about?”
“Where am I?” I thought I knew now since I’d heard his accent but wasn’t sure.”
“Yer in Ireland, lass but how did you not know? Do you have something wrong with you?”
“No, no. I’m on a quest to help a friend who may be dying at this very moment and I’ve been moved magically from place to place. I wonder if you could help me.”
“What’s your name?” he asked with a tentative smile.
“Emily. What’s yours?”
“Liam.”
“Nice name. I think I’m in Ireland. Is that right?”
“You are.” Liam nodded. “I guess you’re smart even though I didn’t think you were at first.”
“When I ask you my next question, you might think I’m not.”
“What’s that?”
“Have you ever seen a unicorn?”
He threw his head back and laughed. “You’re funny.”
“See? I said you’d think I was not very smart but I’m serious.” I fiddled with the shell locket on my neck. I needed desperately to get to Jacob. I could only imagine how bad the fungus was now and my imagination made me want to hurry.
“No. I’m not laughing at that. It’s funny because you’re one hill away from them.”
“What?”
“There’s a whole pasture of them over the next rise. By old man Shanahan’s potato farm. He even sells their leavings for fertilizer. That’s why potatoes from these parts are so delicious.”
“There are unicorns in the next field?” I couldn’t believe it. They weren’t even supposed to exist. Life as I’d known it was such a lie.