Show and Tell Blogfest

Today’s the day!

For those of you just passing through, feel free to visit the participants and vote for your favorite! The winner of this fest will win a free 10 page critique or 4 page synopsis critique by the ever-so-talented CA Marshall!

Here are the participants:

~ Jodi Henry

~ Charity Bradford

~ JW Parente

~ Mia Hayson

~ Nindogs

~ Angelina Rain

~ Christopher S Ledbetter

~ Ellie Garratt

~ Dominic de Mattos

~ Tracy Buscemi

~ Roland D. Yeomans

~ Madeleine

~ Tessa

The Rules:

#1 ~ Choose a picture (find here). On January 15th, give us your example of Show and Tell (one each).
#2 ~ All entries must be posted no later than the 15th and no more than 1,000 words in length for your show, no more than 500 for your tell. You’ll have the 15th thru the 17th to read and comment on all entries. Remember to BE NICE in your comments. Offer constructive criticism.
#3 ~ Write your piece in whatever genre you’re comfortable with. We love them all!
#4 ~ You vote for the winner! I’ll post all the names for votes on my blog and will leave it up until the 18th. Make sure to tell your followers to vote, too!

Okay, so here’s my entry. And because I’m not putting myself in the running, I’ve decided to NOT play by my own rules. Mwahahahaha! When I got the idea for this blogfest, I’d found this awesome pic on CoolVibe whilst looking for some inspiration for my Nano The Last Oracle. It’s not one of the 7 I chose for everyone else, but it’s still super-sweet. Following this will be my “TELL”.

I sucked in a breath and turned toward the moonlight, basking in its bright light and holding myself. The moon seemed so close in this new realm. It seemed much larger than the sun and infinitely more alluring. The reflections bounced off the water like diamonds, drawing my eyes. But that’s not what held my attention.

It was the music.

Soft and beautiful, the melody reached me and filled me with its caress. It was like an orchestra of flutes or some other such instrument that I couldn’t name. For a moment, I wondered if it was coming from the area where the bonfire still lit up the sky further down the bank, but then I realized that it wasn’t coming from my left. No, it was in front of me.

A head peaked out of the water, cast in shadow and moonlight, indiscernible to my eyes from that distance. What I did see was the head return to the water followed by a large fin. I could only compare it to the tail of a whale as it retreated back into the ocean. This tail was nowhere near as large, nor did it follow a sea creature. The figure may have been unclear, but the shape had been human.

I didn’t think long on this oddity. The music was too much to ignore. It called to me. I could almost hear my name in its notes. When the figure appeared again, this time there was no question what I was seeing or that she was producing the sweet music. She was beautiful. Her bare shoulders just breached the surface of the shallow water, her long hair, black as mine, covered her nudity with its thickness, but did nothing to hide her tail. A mermaid. I never thought I’d see that. Not even in this strange new realm of fantastical creatures.

She turned to her side and propped up on one pale arm, regarding me with such an endearing expression of love. “Hello,” she said, her voice as beautiful as her melody.

The moonlight reflected off the blues and purples of her scales, drawing my eyes momentarily from her face. The tip of her tail danced and swayed across the surface as if she were now playing a harp.

“Hello,” I said softly, letting my eyes drift back to her face.

Her red, full lips turned up into an engaging smile. “You are the Oracle,” she said. “I can see it in your aura. It has been far too long since I’ve seen such light. I’d give almost anything to have it.”

And I wanted her to have it. All I had to do was give it to her. Simple enough. I was barely aware that I’d taken several steps into the cool water. I could feel the pebbles of the river floor beneath the thin soles of my shoes, digging into my feet painfully, but it didn’t matter. Reaching her – that’s what mattered. Being one with her music – that’s what mattered.

She stood now, her tail disappearing to give her long legs. Her arms extended, awaiting me. It mattered not that she was completely nude – she was beautiful to behold. I wanted to be her. What woman wouldn’t?

“Come,” she said. “Let me take away your pain.”

My pain? Yes, she could have that, too, if she wanted.

“Your pain for your light, that’s all I ask.”

I would give her whatever she wanted for free.

Her arms finally found me, enfolding me in them and pulling me against her body. I felt at home there. When she pulled away, I looked into her obsidian eyes and watched them as they swirled in a slow circle, enthralling me. Her hands moved up to my face, her gaze now following her fingers as they traced lines over my cheeks and along my jaw. Her red lips parted ever so slightly and a sweet, yet acrid scent filled my nostrils. She closed the space between us then, pressing her soft lips to mine.

The world around me began to grow dark and I could feel myself falling, but I had no control over any of this. She had me, this strange and beautiful woman. She was taking care of me. My name rang in my ears from several different sources, but I didn’t care. My pain was going away and stopping the process now would be detrimental.

Another song filled the air around me and the woman holding me tensed. Her lips lifted from mine and I weakly begged her to stay, but instead, she released me. Water covered my face and I felt her arms wrap around my waist and haul me back up. I was so tired now, my body hanging limply in her arms, and I could hardly keep my eyes open. I could feel my long hair, thick with water, falling to the side and brushing her bare leg.

The two songs increased in speed and intensity, both pulling me in opposite directions now. I longed to be wherever each of them was, but it was impossible to have both. I think the music was the only thing keeping me from slipping into unconsciousness, so I held on to it, not wanting to stop listening for even a second.

The legs beside my head morphed together and returned to the blue and purple tail I’d seen before. The mermaid and I slipped slowly into the water and I felt her arm tighten around my waist just moments before she turned and lunged into the river – taking me with her.

I’d had no last breath. I barely had any air left at all and I was too tired to attempt holding onto what I had. When my lungs reflexively searched for air, they filled with the river water and my body jerked awake at the shock of it, but the mermaid continued to pull me further into the water.

I felt something coil around my left ankle and pull hard. It surprised both me and the mermaid as I slipped free of her arms. I longed to stay with her, yet at the same time, I needed air desperately. I was choking on the water that had filled my lungs and they burned, but there was no air to be had under this dark river.

The mermaid, her face angry, swam for me, pulling at my arms as another attempt to free me of the water pulled at my ankle. I could do nothing to help either one, because darkness finally took me.

 

TELL:

I came to a stop on the bank of the river, watching the moonlight dance on the water. I could have watched it for a long time, but another movement caught my attention. I couldn’t take my eyes off the shape of a person in the water and soon realized that it was a mermaid. Like a siren, the mermaid tempted me with her song.

She came closer, her tail forming into human legs. She spoke words that tempted me – promised to release me from my pain – and I took no note of the underlying threat. I thought only on being free from the hurt I felt.

We came together and I let her take me into her arms like a lover, but soon another song filled my ears, startling the woman who held me. I couldn’t choose. Each song called to me, but I couldn’t do anything even if I wanted to. My body no longer followed the instructions of my mind.

The mermaid took me with her into the water, bringing me down . . . down . . . down . . . deep into it’s dark depths. I couldn’t breathe, and sucked in a breath only to take in the river water. More than air, though, I just wanted to stay with her.

A tug on my ankle fought against the mermaid’s hold on me, making her angry. I slipped free of her arms and let the thing pulling me to the surface bring me closer to the air I so desperately needed. Only I couldn’t make it that long.

I lost consciousness before I even reached the surface. 

Enjoy the rest of the entries. I hope that at least one person learned something today! Don’t forget to cast your vote for your favorite!