A New Tailypo - A Retelling of a Folktale with a Twist

A New Tailypo

A/N: An audio version of this story (under the same title) is now available to view/listen on YouTube.

On the outskirts of a town in the southeastern part of the states, was a lone ranch home. Trees were the only neighbors as there were no other houses for a couple of miles. But the person who owned it, preferred it that way.

Lori was a businesswoman. And after all the weekly hustling and constant communication, she was always relieved to have her own little getaway every day. The little one-story dwelling was spacious enough. It had electricity and plumbing and the basic quarters: a bedroom, parlor, bathroom, kitchen, and dining room. Plus, the woodsy atmosphere was both refreshing and relaxing. Living amongst nature was good for the soul, Lori had always heard. And she didn't mind the occasional curious critter that would saunter by her home for a quick hello and goodbye.

Except when it came to spiders. Those scuttling poison pouches were an absolute no in Lori's household.

One foggy, Friday evening, Lori drove her car up to her narrow driveway. She had worked very late this day and could not wait to put her feet up all weekend. But as the woman pulled in closer, she stepped onto the brake. She blinked through the mist and spotted some kind of animal, pacing by her front door. But even with the auto headlights, she could barely make the dang thing out. But whatever it was, it was dark as night, had a long, dense tail, and was much bigger than the average squirrel.

And it definitely wanted to get inside...

Feeling oddly chilled, even though the weather was considerably warm, Lori slammed the bottom of her palm on the wheel, blaring her vehicle's horn which made the thing jolt and bound away. Lori stayed put momentarily, looking all around herself. With all of the haze, she didn't see where the thing went but by how fast it had moved, she surmised that it'd retreated well off into the woods.

Lori moved her car forward to park and a sonorous shrill abruptly rang out in the vaporous air. She jerked in her seat and got out. The woman did not see anything amiss until she looked down. Next to one of the back wheels was a black tail with a ruddy oozing cut at one end. The strange animal must've gotten confused by the loud horn and had hidden underneath the car.

The severed appendage was convulsing like a decapitated snake. Unblinking at the gruesome sight, Lori clamped onto her abdomen from sudden disgust and the pang of remorse. She only wanted to scare the thing off. She didn't mean to hurt it!

Lori rushed around her property, scanning for any animal that appeared to be in pain or distress. It was getting late and with no signs of anything, the woman walked back to her automobile and stared at the dark-furred, maimed, stilled tail. It was thick and elongated, and she swore the strange animal was not that overly large.

With a sullen shrug and not wanting to attract any nightly predators nor scary scavengers, Lori took out a large rag out of her car's glove compartment and began the grisly task of wrapping the tail for proper disposal.

As Lori stood up and turned off the car's engine, that hair-prickling chill remade its presence as she felt both alone and not alone, all at once.

Shivering, the woman kicked the vehicle's door shut with her shoe. And with a hitched breath, she hurried to her home, unlocked the steel door, and didn't reopen her eyelids until the entrance was closed and relocked from the inside.

***

After a lounging dinner and some late-night television on the couch, Lori put on her nightclothes and then settled into her cozy bed; fully contented to finally get to sleep in. But as her mind began to drift, her awareness was snapped awake from a constant, low scratching at the base of her front door.