Spinning Yarns: "Ancient Wood"

te shared with a neighbor over a fence, an embellished tale told to friends around a fire, a story overheard at a coffee shop — yarns, exaggerations and tall tales told to entertain and delight.

Anthology Contributor: "Ancient Wood"

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Sample

Slowly, in several broken movements, Nathan’s blue eyes moved, following Papa’s line of sight. Something was up there ... a dark shape ... not as big as Papa but bigger than Nathan ... somewhat oval. It swung a little back and forth ... was it twisting?

“Psst!”

Nathan’s gaze jerked toward Papa. He kept his eyes on the shape in the tree, but held his sword upright. With his other hand, he used the blade as a vertical, central line. He extended two fingers on his other hand across the line, for the letter O; next, he extended four fingers on the right of it, for N; then one finger, angled across it for M; then four across the line for E; then one finger, angled across it for M; then one finger across it for A; then all five digits centered on the line at an angle for R; and four fingers on the left of it for C. Papa’s lessons were just as demanding in learning the Olde Tongue as in swordplay, including having to make adjustments, because it only had eighteen letters. That Natharr was signing so rapidly only made it that much more difficult. Nathan’s lips moved silently, blue eyes unfocused, working through the signs and the corresponding letters: O-N-M-E- M-A-R-C. He nodded, knowing there would be more. Natharr extended all five digits centered on the line at an angle for R; then three fingers centered on it for U; and four fingers on the right of it, for N. Nathan blinked rapidly as the message came clear: on my mark, run!

That was never the plan! Nathan was always told to hide until Papa came to get him. Papa once shoved him under a fallen tree to hide him until he could return. The boy was never told to run. His bladder burned, threatening to burst.

Noise jerked his attention back up into the tree, something scraping across the bark. A dark shape moved amidst the shadows ... much bigger than whatever was there already. It moved smoothly, like mud rolling down Nathan’s ankles after he trudged along the stream banks after a heavy rain. Now that he saw it, he could not look away. It was big ... with a tail? No, two tails. Three? It nearly reached the first shape in the tree, then changed course, no longer heading straight down. Instead, it launched itself outward at Papa! It extended what he had first thought were tails. They were legs, but they bent and waved like tails, no distinct joints, all spreading out from its greenish-black body with a pinkish underside. It was spread out like a soft, eight-pointed star, each “leg” reaching out from a point. At the tip of each “leg” was a curved barb, each one nearly as long as Papa’s sword, but curved.

It struck the ground with a sound like something wet, four legs — no, tentacles!— raised over a mound in the center like a head. Those curved barbs blurred, slashing at Natharr. His sword moved even faster, sword clang-clang-clanging loudly as he parried each bony edge, regardless of how many or from what direction they came. In a voice that could top even the roar of a Dragon, Papa yelled, “Nowww!”