On a day when Elspeth had spent her anger, she asked the Elder why she was always so willing to listen. The Elder smiled.
"I was wondering when you would ask," the Elder answered. "I have also held fire." There was a wink in the way the Elder spoke. "But she did not burn me, either. We became friends as young women, my Cloakless and I. She already had children. We meet as often, as long as we could. She was too stubborn to listen to me though, and we got old. We never could break that stupid curse."
"What happened?"
"We got old," the Elder said, and her voice failed. Elspeth felt the kind of pity one usually reserves for a dying family member. The two hugged until Elspeth knew she had to go home.
She kept one hope in her heart when she left that day, however. The curse, the stupid, selfish ancient curse, could be bent. She could go back.
YOU ARE READING
The Maid and The Selkie
Short StoryMacrae finds a strange child on the sand. Elspeth finds her preconceptions are not as true as fact. They find friends in each other, and want to keep that love forever. Cover made with www.canva.com
