Friday, 13 March 2015
Swamp Child
When Daddy passed away I let him sink into the deep part of the swamp, right alongside Mommy's marker.
It's not very far from the shack, but it was hard pulling him there. I did it 'cos I think he would have liked to be next to Mommy again.
I don't remember Mommy, Daddy told me she passed away when I was born, but Daddy always told me what a good and kind person she was.
Sometimes he would tell me stories about the things him and Mommy used to do.
Where they lived before they came to the swamp they had things called Sinny Mars, and Dry Vins, and Daddy told me he used to hold Mommy's hand in these things sometimes, and watch something called Moo Vees.
My Daddy used to cry sometimes when he talked about Mommy.
I don't understand why he used to cry, no-one was hurting him, there was no smoke or nothing, and the marsh gas don't do that to the eyes.
Sometimes he would kiss me and hold me real tight. He used to cry then sometimes too.
The fire don't work no more now Daddy's gone. I miss those flames, and it's cold in the night.
I caught a snake yesterday, ate it without even pulling its head. It squirmed some, but quieted before I finished.
Last night I heard the splish-splash as one of those Zom Bees went by. It seems they come by more often these days. Maybe Zom Bees like the water. Maybe they like to eat snakes too.
I ain't never seen a Zom Bee. Daddy told me him and Mommy came to the swamp so they didn't have to live next to them.
Daddy told me that Zom Bees were people who are different from us, and he always told me to cover my eyes and lie very still and quiet until they had gone away. I don't know why 'cos they don't make much noise, and they don't bother us none.
I really miss that fire.
I wonder if Zom Bees know how to make the fire work again?
I really miss my Daddy too, more than the fire even.
I wonder if one of them Zom Bees would like to be my Daddy?
Next time one comes by I'm gonna go and say hello.
©2015 Stephen. J. Green.
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Noooooo! OMG what an ending! ^_^ Great story Steve and loved the dialogue of the swamp child, you made her completely come alive.
ReplyDeleteThank you Helen, dunno how much longer she'll stay alive though if she intends to say hello to one of them Zom Bees.
DeleteThose zombies do seem rather docile most of the time, don't they? Careful, little one. Knowledge comes at a price. Fun little horror story.
ReplyDeleteThanks David. They tend to get a little less docile when food appears though, don't they? I'll bet one of them would be real glad to see her.
DeleteA Zom Bee story worthy of a Dry Vin Moo Vee. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteHaha!! Thanks Tim, I love this comment. :-)
DeleteAwww, that's sad. I hope he remembers what Daddy said and decides to lay low until they go by. Do Not Feed the Zom Bees.
ReplyDeleteMe too, Larry. I think maybe Daddy could have done a better job explaining their predicament though, and maybe teaching a few survival skills, like lighting a fire.
DeleteDidn't this happen in Frankenstein? :-) A great story. You did an excellent job with her speech and phonetic spellings.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much. :-)
DeleteI'm not sure about the Frankenstein similarity, I think that story varies a little from movie to movie, so it is quite possible. I do remember the one in the Van Helsing movie hiding underground, but I think that movie played around with several old horror story lines.
If I remember correctly there was a scene in Frankenstein in which he befriends a young girl who looks past his "monsterisms." I believe it ends poorly for the girl, but it's been over 20 years since I read it!
DeleteYes, D.Paul, you are correct, there is definitely a resemblance to the Frankenstein story. I googled the plot, (1931) and here is a short extract from it:-
Delete"the monster escapes and in its innocence, kills a little girl. The villagers rise up intent on destroying the murdering creature."
I feel rather sorry for Frankenstein's monster, a creature brought into a world that would never accept him, and that it could never fit into.
I always had a lot of sympathy for the Creature - in the original book it's clear that it's all Frankenstein's fault for abandoning his creation, and even in the Karloff version, most of what happens could probably have been averted if he hadn't been treated so badly.
DeleteYeeaahhh... maybe should have been more pro-active about the survival skills there Daddy. Mommy seems to have died in childbirth -- I wonder what did Daddy in if it wasn't Zom Bees.
ReplyDeleteGreat narrative voice, and the whole scenario makes one wonder what happened outside. Hiding in a swamp would be a smart idea in a zombie apocalypse, come to think of it.
Hi Katherine, and Thank you.
Deleteyes, my idea was that she died during childbirth, another one of those mortality rates that would rise due to the lack of medical help available. I'm thinking that the Dad's death was probably due to some swamp-related disease.
A swamp probably would be a fairly good place to hide, there wouldn't be many Zom Bees around, and there is some food available if you can manage to catch the slithery things. :-)
This really freaked me out for some reason. I think it's just the way the narrator leads up to the ending, the loneliness and desperation.
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't be an enviable position for an adult to be in would it? Let alone a child.
Delete