Several minutes had passed and Sandy was still planted to the same spot, staring straight ahead. Her expression was that of someone who had just seen a ghost. This was not a ghost, however. It was something very different.
The creature was very clear to Sandy. It appeared to be that of a young woman of about twenty. Her size bared resemblance to that of one of Sandy's dolls, approximately eight inches tall. In place of clothes were dingy rags, as though they had been thrown together using a discarded old sheet. Her hair was long and tied in a perfect ponytail, which flowed down over her shoulder; its dark auburn tint glowed in the sunlight. Her skin was very pale, and looked as though it had barely been touched by the harsh sun. The most distinguishing feature, however, was not the clothes she was wearing, or her beautiful features, it was the large transparent wings protruding from her back. They seemed to glitter with the water as it trickled peacefully below her, and now and then they swayed lightly in the breeze. Sandy was speechless, still afraid to move a muscle, her gaze frozen on the small creature.
She had been watching the creature for about ten minutes now, lost in her fascination. The only time it moved was to brush a wisp of loose hair out of her face. She was sat motionless in front of the small wooden door, clearly upset, lost in her own thoughts. She was looking down, as if trying to admire her reflection in the water, but not taking in fully her own beauty.
It was about another five minutes before something happened. Sandy, too consumed with the creature she was witnessing, had let go of Benji's lead. It dropped to the floor beside Benji, who noticed straight away that he was no longer bound to Sandy. With this, he hurdled forward towards the lake and began sniffing around the bank noisely.
At the site of the large Alsatian, the creature shot up into the air like a bird taking flight, it's magnificant wings stretching wide and cutting through the air effortlessly. She flew straight through the door behind her and was gone.
"Benji!" shouted Sandy, forgetting it was in fact her doing that led to Benji getting free. She bent down to pick up the lead from the ground, as she did this, she glanced back up towards the door where she had seen the creature. The door was closed. There was nothing.
It was now approaching midday. Sandy had been sat on a large rock beside the stream for some time, hiding behind the shrubs waiting anxiously, and hoping for the creature to reappear. A huge sigh was the response to the no show, and Sandy finally accepted that there would be now more to see.
"I want to see it again Benji," Sandy whispered, still glaring at the door as she got to her feet. Benji was now laying down on the warm ground, his eyes looking up at Sandy. His expression told her that he was fed up, having given up sniffing around and marking his territory. They had been there a little while now and the gurgling in Sandy's stomach indicated that it was time for lunch. Feeling disheartened, Sandy pulled Benji up and turned to head back up to the cottage, taking one more quick glance over her shoulder on the way just to make sure she didn't miss anything that may happen.
The aroma of home made chips and sausages greeted Sandy as she entered the cottage via the back door. Mr Drewett was sat at the table, the local newspaper concealing his face. Mrs Drewett was stood at the hob creating the wonderful smell, which had hypnotised her hungry daughter.
"Billy, time to eat," called Mrs Drewett without turning her head.
"Yay, yay, yay!" came the excited reaction of Billy. "I'm starving."
As the Drewett family sat down for lunch, Sandy wondered whether or not it was time to mention her experience in the woods. Would her parents believe her? Would they tell her to stop being silly? Or would they simply listen to her, humouring her, believing it to be one of Sandy's many games she thought up? Again Sandy decided against it, still unsure herself what she had seen.
YOU ARE READING
Fight of the Nymphs - The Master of the Dragons
Fantasy"Spread out across the bank, on the far side of the stream, were three miniature doors, all of which were identical to that of the one Sandy had seen yesterday. It wasn't this, however, that made Sandy stop in her tracks. It was what she saw sitting...
