Golconda Fort, Hyderabad, India © Marcus Ellem via Google Maps
Harak hid behind a still tree, scanning the ruins.
The ancient fortress was cursed, having been swallowed and spit out by the Impassable Forest. Yet some still ventured in–explorers, scavengers, daredevils–and disappeared.
Harak’s sister, for one.
Seeing nothing, Harak crept forward. Halfway there, he heard buzzing, like giant dragonflies. Dropping to the ground, he feigned sleep, his face slack, trying to look dull and boring.
He resisted flinching as the noises neared. Two of them. Almost touching him. Their clicking language sounded almost musical, soothing.
Later, he approached the ruins. A crowd danced joyfully inside.
His sister laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. Go home.”
She looked… indistinct. Harak lunged to grab her. The room filled with buzzing. Hundreds of them, surrounding him.
Harak awoke on the grass, confused. A warning? Fey didn’t give those.
He stood, steadied his knees, and marched toward the ruins.
He had to try.
Word count: 150. Written for this week’s What Pegman Saw challenge. Thank you to Karen and Josh for hosting! Click the link to see the other stories inspired by various images around the fort and Hyderabad. And feel free to join in yourself! It’s great fun to explore the site through all the street view and photo sphere images. Pick the one that inspires you, and go for it!
If you want to read more about the Impassable Forest, here are some of my favorites: On A Leaf Edge, Feathered Fate, and Wayward Woods.
Tales from Eneana 
Okay, now I want more. What’s going on?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hmm, that’s potentially a very long answer. The Impassible Forest is filled with, among other things, fairies. As addressed in some of the earlier stories that I linked to, the edge of the forest sometimes moves. This particular fortification was built with its back to the forest, supposedly for protection against the ruler’s enemies. However, the ruler seems to have annoyed the forest, because it moved, swallowing up the fortress and everyone in it, who were never seen again. Much later, the forest retreated and the ruins were exposed, but some fairies still think of it as theirs, and they do something bad to anyone who comes into the building, which is why nobody ever returns. I think here they are trying to make Harak go away by giving him a dream, but they might just be messing with him and goading him to come in anyway. They do that kind of thing.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’d think they’re messing with him, especially in showing him his sister. Gah, never trust the Fae!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’d say you’re right on both counts, Jean!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great story. Intriguing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Josh.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That just pulled me in and left me wanting more… Always a good sign, Joy. Most enjoyable.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Dale! Seems I can’t help but introduce more questions than I answer in these tiny micro-fictions. But as you say, wanting more is good!
LikeLike
His sister enjoying the unexplored. She is brave. Harak is worried without any particular reason. Afraid of the unknown!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting interpretation, hmm. His sister is brave, yes, but those fey are a reason to be worried. Thanks for reading!
LikeLike
I love the sound of dragonfly wings.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do too. But if they were giant wings, and associated with killer fey, I think I’d change my mind. Thanks for reading Alicia!
LikeLike
You have a knack of writing genuinely scarey stuff! I don’t think I’d let any of my younger grandchildren read that story! I agree with the other comments – this would be a great full-length short story.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No, the fairies in Eneana are definitely not something you’d have in modern children’s stories! Now, the Grimm Brothers’ version of children’s stories perhaps… Thanks for the vote of confidence, Penny!
LikeLike
By giving us little hints and tastes of strangeness, you usher us into this bizarre world. As Hayek wakes up from his dream we are left to wonder, how much of what he dreamt could actually be real. Love the soothing clicking language, and the unsteady knees.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t do much more than hint with so few words, so I’m glad to hear the hints are coming across, thanks! ,
LikeLiked by 1 person
I did not mean “hint” to be critical. It’s more like a bit of seasoning on a well-cooked meal: it brings out the flavor but does not overwhelm the original. ingredients.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, I didn’t take it as critical, sorry if it came off that way. I enjoy dropping hints if they make people want to know more!
LikeLike
Love this, especially the way the dream is woven into this magical world. It takes a brave man to proceed. It would be easier to accept the convenient dream of his sister saying “I’m fine.”
LikeLike
Thanks for the great comment, Karen — I’m so glad that all came across as I’d hoped. Unfortunately for him, he’s not going to take the easy way out, although I fear that his sister is beyond helping by now. Thanks for the great inspiration!
LikeLike
I particularly liked the sound of dragonflies. I know from experience they can be surprisingly loud considering their fragile semi-transparent wings.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I got the idea from the dragonflies that were captured in the Google maps photo, and how the odd perspective makes them look so much larger than they must really be. Unless there really were GIANT dragonflies there!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, there were giant dragonflies in, I think, the Carboniferous period. Wing spans of six feet!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, that’s big! I’ve read too much about the science of how we could have such large creatures in earlier eras and why they wouldn’t survive here and now. But hey, it’s a fantasy world, so I figure I get a little leeway… 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Of course, conditions are not the same. Air pressure, polution, weather systems, general ecology, predators …
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes – and something about the percentage of oxygen in the air, if I remember correctly.
LikeLike
On a related theme, you might want to look at Daphne du Maurier’s short story, “Monte Verita.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hmm, sounds interesting, although I was hoping it was a super short story available online, and it seems more a novella. Not sure how it’s a related theme, but it sounds from the reviews I’ve read that you can’t say much about it without getting into spoiler territory.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My apologies, and you’re right. Oh, well, maybe I’ll come up with a more useful and explicable recommendation another time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Never trust the fey, this we know from every fairytale ever – except Disney version of course. Love that mix of reality and the imaginary, not knowing if the vision is a warning, a premonition, or just his own anxiety. Beautifully written as always – you are good at the scary fairy tales!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the lovely comment, Lynn — it’s so great to hear! It’s funny, because I don’t think of myself as liking scary stories. I certainly get the heebie jeebies from most anything called horror these days. And yet Eneana keeps developing as a fairly scary place. (Yes, especially those fey!) Maybe it’s because the horror I don’t like is of the “gore fest / serial killer” variety, which seems to be the most popular these days. It occurs to me that I still enjoy *older* horror, of the mysteriously spooky house and/or long-building suspense variety.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m with you on that. I don’t really like horror – read some as a teen but fell out of love with it. It began to repel me. And though I write horrifying scenes in my stories sometimes, I don’t do it just for shock’s sake – hopefully there’s a point! Love a creepy tale too. Have you read any MR James stories? He was an Edwardian English academic who wrote ghost stories as a hobby. Some are dated, it can’t be denied, but he’s the master a creeping dread! The best known is “Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad” http://www.thin-ghost.org/items/show/150
LikeLiked by 1 person
And Eneana is a Terrifying place! And all the better for it 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, that’s me too — I don’t mind something that’s horrifying, as long as there’s a point to it, not just gross-out shock value. Although I think I was more resilient to even those kinds of creepy stories when I was younger. Now the real world is shocking and stressful enough — the last thing I need is for my fiction to scare me, too!
Edwardian ghost stories are exactly my speed when it comes to horror; I’ll check out MR James.
LikeLike