Metaphors and Similes

000

THE COOL AUTUMN BREEZE SWEPT THROUGH MY HAIR as I waded into the murky depths of Elkmoore Pond. "Just one more minute," I thought to myself. "Just one more minute."

I ventured into the deeper parts of the water, the icy water prickly against my legs. "Curse my parents for making me wear this," I muttered under my breath as I tried to walk further into the water but failed miserably because of my oversized life jacket.

A sudden gust of wind, too cold to be normal for the season, bit into my raw, exposed skin. I shivered, goosebumps rising. Suddenly, every single cell in my body was urging me to get out of the water.

I tried to wade out, but I couldn't move. I looked down, and my feet were covered in a thick layer of ice. "How did this get here, I wonder? It's the beginning of autumn!" I thought, trying to reassure myself. "By now, this weather is just becoming a nuisance."

But something felt terribly wrong. A shadow slowly appeared on the ice. Daring myself to do so, I slowly looked up. First, I saw the bottom of a black cloak, and then the top of a hooded figure's head. I bit back a scream that threatened to escape from the back of my throat.

"Ah, Vanessa Sloane," said the man, a raspy growl escaping from his throat. "What a fine specimen you are."

"S-sp-specimen? W-what do you mean, 'specimen?" I asked, trembling.

"Ah, weakling. You don't understand anything. Clearly, you've been lied to by your," a small smile curls up his cheeks. "so-called 'parents'"

"My parents would never lie to me, you-" I struggled to think of a word. "you dense, IQ-of-a-rock, idiot!"

The slightest tremor of shock rippled across the man's body. Nevertheless, he quickly regained his posture and confidence.

Sticking his hood right up against my face, I felt my expression become a mask of disgust, whilst I tried to hide the fear threatening to burst me apart. A small silver glint sparkled from the back of the man's mouth. A silver tooth.

"Georgia Driscoll." a name escaped from his mouth, a breathy and whispery noise.

"How do you know about my grandmother?" I shot back, defensive.

"She was a coward," he said, spitting out the words. "Just. Like. You."

"Don't you dare say that about my grandmother!" I said, my voice rising in tension and anger. "She's better than your... your..."

"My what?" chuckled the man.

"Your dead father! He was such an idiot. I still can't believe he threw himself off a mountain just to kiss a silly nymph." It was a guess. But I knew, deep in my bones, that that was the truth.

"What did you say?" said the man, rising and trembling with rage.

My confidence, returned, let me talk back. "Well, are you deaf now? Ha! You can't even hear me."

All of a sudden, the man started chanting in a mysterious language. I heard nothing, somehow, even though his mouth was moving. My vision started to tunnel, and the world blurred into a moving spiral right in front of my eyes. A mysterious, vaguely female voice whispered in my ears, "Stop this curse before you turn twelve, or in the graveyard, you will delve."

A thud echoed in my ears, and as I struggled to look up, I saw the man lift up his hood with a smug smile on his face. With a quick wave of his hand, he disappeared in a whirlwind of leaves.

"Vanessa? Vanessa! Where are you?!" called a worried voice, echoing in the distance.

Then the world faded to black.