We Fear Nothing [Fiction]
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"Don't be a ninny! It's just a spider," Martina Schuler yelled at her flustered ten-year-old daughter, Becka. The little girl wriggled, stomped her feet and fluffed her flowing skirt to get rid of the spider that had fallen on her as she and her mother cleaned out their basement.
At Martina's sharp voice, Becka stopped and glanced at her mother with tears in her eyes. Martina burst into laughter and quickly sat on a counter stool to stop herself from falling.
"Alright, I'm sorry. Don't look so sad…"
"You know I hate spiders," Becka said as tears rolled down her cheek.
"Hey, hey," Martina kneeled in front of her daughter, wiping away the tears. "See, spiders are just like other insects they won't hurt you, okay? You are a Schuler witch and we…what?" She prompted Becka.
"We fear nothing, nihil timemus," Becka mumbled in Latin as she'd been taught.
"Great!"
Becka turned to take the stairs back into the house. "Uh, young lady, we are not done yet," Martina called out but her daughter was long gone.
Becka went into her room and curled up in bed. The sun was slowly setting as rays of reddish-orange hues streamed through the slightly parted curtain to touch her face. She replayed the scene of her mother laughing at her in the basement over and over in her head until it became dark.
The full moon stood high in the starless sky streaming down its light straight into her room, just as the sun did earlier. Becka stood by her window, gazed at the silver orb and whispered,
"Schuler's fear is real
Moon, show what I must see
Silver light, reveal."
That same night as Martina Schuler turned off her bedside lamp and climbed into her bed to sleep, she had a sense of foreboding that something unpleasant was about to happen. Debating within herself whether to act on the feeling or shrug it off, her late mother's words came vividly to mind: "Never disregard an uneasy feeling. It is a message from your spirit to your conscious self. Heed the warning."
Martina flipped her bedcover to the side, stood up and almost ran out of her room to check up on Becka. Her instinct was never wrong. A flash of lightning brightly lit up the dark hallway leading to her daughter's room.
But there were no rain clouds that night, Martina wondered. Where did the lightning come from?
Reaching Becka's room, another lightning flashed revealing something dark and huddled in a corner close to the door. Martina gasped and froze. She watched as the dark form uncurled itself and slipped under the door into Becka's room.
"No, no, no!" Martina whispered harshly. She flung her daughter's door open with a bang. The dark form stood tall over Becka's bed like a gigantic spider. Its legs were spread out around the bed and the spherical underside exposed to Martina's gaze was reddish-yellow.
A black widow spider.
Martina's skin immediately bubbled with goosebumps and her hair stood on end. Her breath came out in short gasps as her eyes fixed on her beautiful daughter who was tucked in her bed, her rebellious curls framing her oval face as she slept peacefully and unaware of what was happening.
"You vile creature! Stay away from my daughter," Martina yelled.
Becka woke up with a start at the sound of a voice that seemed frightened and strange. She turned and paled at the sight of her equally pale and terrified mother. The sight of the shadowy, gigantic spider beside her bed made her eyes bulge.
She watched in slow motion as her mother ran from the door, fear, anger and determination etched on her face as she jumped on the shadowy spider. Her fingers were curved like claws, poised to tear the dark figure into irreparable pieces.
Becka began to gasp for air as she broke out in a terrible rash. There was another flash of lightning followed by a clap of thunder just as her mother crashed against her bedside table. The lamp on it fell to the floor and broke. The shadowy figure merely disappeared.
Martina quickly stood up and glanced around. The entire scene felt like a figment of her imagination. She sat on the bed and held Becka to herself to stop the poor girl from shivering. As raindrops pounded against the windowpane, she realised then that it was raining.
"Are you okay, Becka?" She cupped her daughter's face and looked into her eyes.
Becka nodded. "I'm so sorry, mommy. It's all my fault…"
"What do you mean?"
Becka halted for a second before spilling the truth. "You said we feared nothing but I don't think it's true. So I cast a spell before dinner to know what you feared."
Martina withdrew her hands from her daughter, stood from the bed and gaped at her in shock. "Why would you do something like that?" She whispered.
"I thought something was wrong with me, being scared of spiders and all. Now I know you fear losing me. Oh mommy, please forgive me."
Martina was quiet for a while as the rain pounded against the window, filling the room with its sound. Then she gently sat back on the bed and held Becka's hands.
"I should be the one to ask for your forgiveness. I thought I could make you stronger by denying a part of you that's real. That's the way I was brought up. I see now it's not right. Losing you is my fear and no, there's nothing wrong with you. It's okay to be afraid. That's what makes you human but also work towards conquering your fear. Okay?"
"Yes, mommy."
Mother and child huddled under the blanket and fell asleep in each other's arms as it rained all night, their fears conquered.
I hope you enjoyed reading this short story. It is my response to The Ink Well Prompt #107 inspired by the prompt "The Things That Go Bump In The Night".
Thank you.
Beautiful one, loved it.
You write so well, every line is described so well that I could imagine them before my eyes.
☺️ Thank you so much for your lovely comment. I'm thrilled you like this story. !LUV
@minhajulmredol, @kemmyb(1/4) sent you LUV. | tools | discord | community | HiveWiki | NFT | <>< daily
Becka needs a good spanking, give her one more thing to be afraid of😂
Lovely tale kemmy
😅 Thank you so much for reading.
!PIZZA
Becka really amused me in this story. Spiders are basically a child's worst nightmare anyway. This was a wonderful write up. Well done.🌺
I'm not fond of spiders either! 😄 So I empathize with Becka. I think it's one of those things that many people can relate to. Thanks for your kind feedback! !PIZZA
I enjoyed reading the story. I wanted to know what will happen next. The point you are making about fear is part of being humans is very true. Well done with the writing 💞
True, fear is a basic part of us but we shouldn't let it override or rule us! 😊 Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. !LUV
@lenaspiritual, @kemmyb(2/4) sent you LUV. | tools | discord | community | HiveWiki | NFT | <>< daily
You cast spells in the air with an elegant flourish, illuminating the very relatable inner struggles of this extraordinary duo. Your descriptions are velvety and flow just right. Wonderfully done!
One note though, this detail was unresolved:
It is minor, but it does stick out in this otherwise vibrantly hashed out tale. Thank you for sharing this fantastic story with us, and for your engagement with other members of the community.
Thank you so much for this glowing comment. Reading through my story again, I see what you mean about the unresolved detail. I'll edit accordingly. Your feedback is much appreciated! 🙂
Hmmm, interesting! What a wonderful way to explore the prompt and I am impressed 😅. I love this story it explore some many themes like love, fear, self-esteem and parenting. I enjoyed reading it and I was hooked from the beginning till the end. Well done.
!discovery 40
Hehe. It seems I incorporated quite some themes into one story! I'm happy you enjoyed reading it. Thank you so much for your visit and support. 💕
!LADY !PIMP
You must be killin' it out here!
@kemmyb just slapped you with 1.000 PIMP, @esther-emmanuel.
You earned 1.000 PIMP for the strong hand.
They're getting a workout and slapped 1/1 possible people today.
Read about some PIMP Shit or Look for the PIMP District
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Congratulations, @kemmyb! Your story has been chosen as one of the best of the week and is part of the highlighted author magazine #96.
https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/the-ink-well-highlights-magazine-96
I'm honoured! 🙂 Thank you so much and keep up the good work. !LUV
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Now, this Is what I call "storytelling".
It was very engaging and the choice of words was top-notch💯
What a lovely comment! Thank you very much for your visit. !PIZZA 🙂