A Devil's Delicacy

Kelpie

Until I was thirteen years old, I lived in a small village in Scotland. It was a very peaceful and serene area, with a gentle river not too far away. I lived in a house with my mother and grandmother. I never met my father, I figured he left the family before I was born. Neither my mother nor grandmother talked about him, he was a mystery. It was the morning before my thirteenth birthday. My mother jokingly asked if I wanted a unicorn for my birthday. Like most little girls, I had a horse phase. But I was slowly growing out of it. So I just told her I'd love some more books. There actually was something I wanted for my birthday, but I'd be fine with just the books. I loved to read after all. One of my favorite things to do was go out into the nearby forest, and that's what I did later that day. I was lost in my book for maybe 15 minutes before I looked up. Standing by the water was the most beautiful white horse. I know it sounds strange but twelve year old me would have been ecstatic. I continued to approach the magnificent beast. At the dinner table I told my family about the horse that I saw, "the forest can tricks on your eyes." I remember feeling really confused and frustrated.

The next morning, I woke up to my mom singing happy birthday to me in my room. She said my grandmother had gone into town for a special birthday surprise. My mom asked me what I wanted to do while we waited. I wanted to sit in the forest to read, like every other day. So I did just that. Moments later, I heard someone calling my name, "V, hey V." I looked up, and there was a kind looking woman, I cocked my head at her in disbelief and replied, "how did you know?" She smiled at me warmly before gesturing me to follow her. "He wanted you to have this for your thirteenth birthday, come now." I knew I wasn't supposed to follow strangers deeper into the forest, I knew that. But she knew who I was, so maybe she wasn't a complete stranger. I closed my book and followed her. She led me to the same clearing by the river I was at yesterday, and there it was... the same white horse. "It's all yours dear, happy birthday." The horse seemed to nod its head at me, almost as if reassuring me that yes, all of this was true. My father is out there somewhere and sent me this horse as a birthday gift. I had so many unanswered questions, but in that moment all of my concerns sort of drifted away. The only thought on my mind was that I needed to ride that horse. It was even more gorgeous up close. As if under a spell, my hand reached out to stroke it's mane, but after one stroke I realized something was very wrong. My hand was stuck and wouldn't come off. While I frantically tried to pry it off, I heard the women laughing maniacally behind me. Then suddenly, a gunshot. I turned around to see the woman's body on the ground morph into the body of a dead black horse. And a few feet away was my grandmother, aiming a gun right at me with a cake box at her feet. "Please forgive me V, now hold still." I duck my head and felt liquid fire tear through my fingers. She had shot my hand. I grabbed my bleeding digits with my other hand and screamed wildly, but I was free. I ran towards my grandmother while the horse's body began to shrivel and fall into the river. After my grandmother bandaged my hand and had calmed down, I asked her what the hell happened back there. "I am so sorry V," she said. "But I had no choice, that kelpie was going to drag you into the river and drowned you." "Kelpie? What's a kelpie?" "Their malicious horses that live near the water. They can shape shift into human beings to try to trick you into riding their sticky bodies." "That's actually how your father died." I took a moment to let the new information sink in. "But why didn't we move? Why didn't we leave the area?" "Because we didn't want to believe that's what happened V." My mother cried. We moved to the city shortly after, far away from any large body of water. I may have lost a piece of me that day, but I also got my birthday wish. I finally learned the truth.