Juliana walked her parisian poodle, Mimsy, down by the river. The night breeze tangled her hair as they wandered. They reached the end of the river where the water stood still in a large pond. The candle bridge crossed the river right before the pond. It was lit up to fight off the darkness of the new moon. It was Juliana’s favorite night to go for a walk. No one else was there yet. She stepped onto the bridge and walked to the center. The candles reflection danced across the still pond. Mimsy curled up at Juliana’s feet to take a nap. Juliana let out a deep sigh. She grabbed the dirty penny from her pocket and held it tight to her heart. Juliana transferred every hope in her heart to the filthy, misshapen penny. She smiled and tossed it into the pond. It was the night of wishes after all. The pond’s surface split into a thousand tiny waves and rings, making the candlelight dance and fracture across its surface.
A muppet claw grasped the edge of the bridge. Juliana backed away quickly. A battered teddy bear with a single unexpectedly human eye, climbed up onto the bridge. Juliana stared and Mimsy started to bark. The bear spoke. “Listen Dollface, you were the one that wished for the awakening eye. You can’t back away from the wishes of your heart.”
Juliana took a single step forward. “I thought that prayer would awaken the eyes of one who would love me. Not… whatever you are.”
The bear took a step closer. “I will love you forever, all you have to do is take my hand and come inside.”
Mimsy kept barking and pulling on the leash. Juliana felt the leash slip through her fingers but was too mesmerized by the creature in front of her. “Come inside where?”
“My home of course. Where we will live together forever.”
Juliana thought of all of the lonely days in her tiny studio apartment. She couldn’t return there. Even Mimsy never fully chased the loneliness away. Juliana threw caution to the wind and took another step forward. She grasped the creature’s hand and they both vanished from the bridge.
The prompts for today’s short story:
standing water
muppet claw
doll face
unexpectedly human
parisian poodle
candle bridge
teddy bear
awakening eye
come inside
Copyright 2020 Klaudia Grady
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