Close to Death
Heather panted, sweat prominent on her brow. Nausea clung to her stomach as she crawled to the fountain of youth. Her boots were high-tops, and left dragging trails in the salty marsh.
Spoonbills rested here, a plethora of pink birds arranged around a watery nest. You weren't supposed to feed them, but Heather had no choice. She was dying, and the dead should be allowed to break laws. Tracing a triangle in the wet dirt, she brought out tubers and bulbs from her pocket.
The birds retreated, started to eat. Heather crawled to the fountain, and drank.
I love the line about the "dead should be allowed to break laws."
ReplyDeleteI agree! This was interesting :)
ReplyDeleteI could see the marsh. Neat!
ReplyDeleteexcellent visuals. Like I was there.
ReplyDeleteVery smart and clever wording. I had to google what a spoonbill was : ) I have to agree that my favorite line was "the dead should be allowed to break laws." Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLove the birds! And I'm crazy to know what happens now that she's fed them.
ReplyDeleteThanks, everyone! I'm glad that you like the wording.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite lines: "left dragging trails in the salty marsh" and "the dead should be allowed to break laws". Love the visuals. Great job!!
ReplyDeleteExcellent depiction. I felt it.
ReplyDeleteNas