Macrae found, as she approached the place she knew Elspeth was, that she heard her own language in a way she never had before. She was able to hear it as she imagined a foreigner would, and she could imagine how to twist it.
Macrae will never know what she said, but it must have been something, because the men ran aways at the sound. "Witch!" she heard them scream.
Elspeth was curled on the ground, her skin red from exposure to the winter. Silently, Macrae pulled her shawl off her shoulders and draped it over her friend. In a dream state, the women walked to Macrae's house together. Macrae never felt the cold.
When they got back, Macrae did what she promised herself she'd do. She retrieved Elspeth's cloak from where it had been, and hung it on the hanger by her door.
"Elspeth?"
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
