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Rated: 13+ · Short Story · Fantasy · #2294946
Time has forgotten the spirits of the trees but they have not forgotten human faith.
I get so tired of this place. The musty odor of moist earth and decaying leaves, the silence stirred by the occasional breeze. Long ago, I danced under the moonlit sky, freedom flowed through my veins.

Like so many others, I didn’t recognize the danger creeping through time. The beauty of my world distracted from the growing stiffness in my legs and arms. Belief faded from our human worshippers. As their faith diminished, so did my strength. Each year drained my mobility a little more until one day, here, I lost it all.

I hate this place.

My roots sunk deep into the earth but ages ago, under stars and the silver moon, they wandered. I ran naked with the others, free and happy.

Even the memories are beginning to fade. The stiffness consumes my awareness. I am lost in the woods.

When he walks up, my leaves shiver in excitement. It has been so long since I have seen a human face. Am I dreaming again?

If not, I could tell him of the wild woods where deities danced with humans, where belief gave us life so long ago.

Please. A single word spoken in a dead language captures my desperation.

His hand pats my bark. He will grant my long sought after freedom. He raises a thing with so many teeth. My elation turns to fear. He pulls a cord and the monster roars to life.

This is not what I want! In that moment, I understand. Humans would never believe in my kind again. The only way I would leave this dreaded place was in pieces. I hate this place but I would rather fade away in peace versus torn apart.

The teeth rip into my side and I shriek. No one can hear it but me.


This is an entry for
Daily Flash Fiction Challenge  (13+)
Enter your story of 300 words or less.
#896794 by Arakun the Twisted Raccoon
© Copyright 2023 Siobhan Falen (shadowsnflames at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/2294946-Death-of-a-Dryad