Tale #136: The Bull And His Bride, or The Maid And Her Man (fragment)

“If there’s doubt, say no.”

“How’s saying no going to help, mother? A big bull like that, once his head’s all addled by lust, ain’t no one’s going to stop him.”

“It’s up to him if he won’t hear you. You’ve done your part. Given him fair warning to stop.”

“And then what? Just lie back and let him have his way, safe in the knowledge that at least I protested?”

“Of course not, dearie,” the maid’s mother said. “You’ll gently put your hands around his neck, and with those lacquered nails of yours, slice those throbbing veins of his apart.”

She put down her scissors, and showed her daughter the mirror.

“That’s how I brought your father down to size.”

__________

Notes:

1. Written in February 2019
2. Upon waking from a dream.
2. Although the rest of the story faded quickly away

__________

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Tale #131: The Swan (A Morality Tale In Miniature)

When I was a child, a swan pecked off the fingers of my right hand, one by one, and swallowed them whole, with a gulp, and a sneer, or so it looked to me then, with those those haughty black eyes, those flecks of my blood smeared upon its beak, as I screamed in horror, screamed in fear, screamed in every possible way a scream is possible to scream.

In the aftermath, as I lay in bed, my hands swaddled in bandages, my body swaddled in quilts and covers, instead of sympathy, or alongside it at least, was an undercurrent of disdain, every empty platitude accompanied by some snort of derision, some admonishment of my judgement, as they made sure to tell me it was my own damn fault. I should have known better. I shouldn’t have been down by the river. I shouldn’t have offered it those last few scraps of bread.

I should have left the poor thing alone.

__________

Notes:

1. Written on April 1st, 2019
2. And then re-written almost entirely on September 8th, 2020

__________

Support An Accumulation Of Things

If you like the things you've read here please consider subscribing to my patreon or my ko-fi.

Patreon subscribers get not just early access to content and also the occasional gift, but also my eternal gratitude. Which I'm not sure is very useful, but is certainly very real.

(Ko-fi contributors probably only get the gratitude I'm afraid, but please get in touch if you want more).

Thank you!