I hope everyone is having a happy new year. Personally, I'm happy for the new year. The bride and I have finally moved into our new home and I once again have time to write, paint, and draw. Something I've really been missing is the weekly Wednesday Writers Whatchamacallits (WWW) group. Each week, we meet via Zoom video chat service and share news and other shenanigans with other writers. At the end of the meeting, we have a prompt and 15 minutes to write something pertaining to that prompt.
This weeks prompt is the first paragraph to the story below. Once the WWW group host shared the prompt, the wheels automatically started turning in my head and the following words just spilled onto the page. I don't know about you, but as a writer, there's nothing more satisfying than a story taking shape in this way.
Anyway, here is Misty Meadow and it's so glad to be back after such a long hyatus while moving.
Kira stood in the shadows, certain that no one sensed her presence. She shouldn’t have come but couldn’t help herself—this was something she had to see for herself.
The grey sky morning slid into the valley, illuminating the small meadow surrounding the rocky, bubbling brook. Fed by ice melting from nearby mountains, cold water bled clouds of mist into the warm morning and soon swirling grey clouds engulfed the meadow.
Somewhere to her right, like a distant drum, a steady beat filled the air. As it grew closer, the drumming sound became more distinct and identifiable—it was the sound of mighty wings.
The beating ceased, replaced by a whoosh of wind followed by a chorus of gentle thuds. She could have imagined it, but she was half-convinced she felt the thuds vibrate through the ground beneath her.
She wanted to move, to inch forward another few feet or so but was afraid that she might make too much noise and scare the beast off. So, she held fast, kneeling between in the heavy shadows of two moss-covered trees.
Her head turned at the sound of a snort—a heavy exhalation as the beast tested the air. Having placed herself downwind, Kira smiled, knowing the beast wouldn’t sense her presence.
Movement! Her own breath caught in her chest as she realized that which she came to see was moving toward the brook. Soon it would be within sight. And there it was, the most beautiful creature she’d ever seen.
It came into view in a swirl of mist. Its black mane shook as muscles rippled along its back. With each step, the hoofs sounded a deep thud through the air—as if the creature weighed significantly more than it really did.
Mouth open in wonder, Kira watched in astonishment as its wings beat once, then folded along its body as the Pegasus lowered its head to drink.
January 9, 2019
c.j.t.