a series of short stories

conquering fears pt2

The river eventually opened up into a small, marshy lake. There, the evergreens seemed to hide the miry undergrowth as the cattails gently swayed to the negligible breeze that had managed to battle through the towering trees. The surface of the lagoon opened up to heaven on the cloudless afternoon. Wayne had picked up a what what what rock and was kicking it around the worn coppice trail. Camila followed suit and it quickly turned into a game of who-can-get-to-the-rock-first as the sun inched closer and closer to the horizon. The bitter myrrhic scent of the commiphora trees met their noses as Wayne led them around to the other side of the lake, where a small clearing marked their destination.

"I'm bored," Camila whined, aggressively punting the rock into the lake with a final thud, "Truth or Dare?"

"Truth," Wayne replied, "there is no way I'm picking dare after 'The Incident'."

'The Incident' was the unfortunate result of one of Camila's infamous dares involving the household detergent, green balloons, and all of dad's shaving cream. Camila shivered at the evocation. "Fair enough. Who do you like?"

Wayne scratched the back of his head and took his time before he stuttered, "D-dare it is then."

Throwing her head back, Camila let out an unholy you're-so-gonna-regret-this snicker.

"I dare you to catch me that monarch," she challenged, and let out another ludicrous laugh as she remembered her own butterfly-catching fails from earlier that day. The unsuspecting victim was perched on a nearby leaf. Its wings stood out from its rather gaunt body and matched the gradient of the guitar on the GarageBand icon.

"That butterfly? But-"

"It's that or the Truth."

Wayne looked down, defeated and dejected, "Challenge accepted."

He stalked towards the prize with a chilling swiftness, staring at it unblinkingly and slowly advancing. Raising his hands, he made a imaginary sphere around the prisoner. The cell became smaller as Wayne tightened his hands around the butterfly.

Suddenly, he flinched and let out a hysteric girlish scream. "It moved!" he screeched, jumping back from the oh-so-terrifying insect, which darted away in alarm. The butterfly came back mockingly, fluttering around Wayne while he blindly swatted the air around him. Camila watched, howling with laughter and clutching her stomach.

Wayne lost it. Letting out a anguished roar, he naruto ran towards the monarch, which was now hovering dangerously close to the river's edge. He jumped and snatched his prey out of the air with cupped hands going the speed of light. Camila stopped laughing and watched as Wayne opened his hands a crack to peek at his handiwork.

After enjoying a fleeting moment of triumph, Wayne, in true cartoon style, plummeted into the water.

The butterfly wiggled itself free last second. It flew away.

Wayne, however, could not fly. The last thing he heard before he broke through the icy surface of the water was Camila's petrified scream.

~~~

Part 3 on the way 🥰