Modern Imagination

Chapter 3

Dora opened her eyes to be welcomed by total darkness, she jerked up to see that she was surrounded by leaves and that it was the leaves that covered her eyes. She blinked up against the sun, trying to remember what happened yesterday and why she was not on her bed then all the memories of the plants came flooding in, that was when she remembered she had wings. The wings sprang open, as if happy to be remembered. Dora felt an odd sense of satisfaction at seeing them and her lips prepared to form a smile but it stopped halfway. What was she doing? ...smiling at seeing the nuisances she could not use. The wings dropped in response. A rumbling stomach distracted her from her wings and she realized she needed food, badly. The woods looked welcoming but she knew better than to accept its deceptive invitation. Her stomach rumbled her again, reminding her that she could not stay like this. She looked at the woods one more time and slouched back on the ground.

“Your stomach says nay.” A male voice startled her.

Dora turned in the voice’s direction to see a short man. He was dressed in sac clothes but lacked the usual long hat from the movies she had seen at home. With his cleanly shaved face, it was easy for Dora to guess his age, he looked like he was in his early twenties making him not far older than her as she only just hit twenty barely two-months earlier. Her eyes quickly roamed to his feet to see the stubbed pair of shoes that looked like they were made from leaves. Now looking at him carefully, she realized that he was not in reality just short but that he was a dwarf.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Dos’t atter ho' 'e bey, wot atter 'e bey the bowel in tey.”

Dora sat up and looked at him perplexed, trying to understand what he was saying. Never had she heard such rendition of English in the twenty-first century.

“Erm…what was it you said again?” she looked at him with her young doleful eyes.

“Ye do’t understand me?...Wher’ ‘re tey from?”

That was much easier to understand but warning bells went off in her head. What if she was not accepted here, she did not even know where she was. She would have to lie right through her teeth.

“I am a creature of this world…”

“Wha’ kin’ of creatur’ dos’t understand tey lang’age of ‘ Shreek?”

Dora opened her mouth to say the first thing that came to her mind but the Shreek stopped her.

“No need to pretend, the wings on your back seem of this world but not even a Winscot would not wear such devastating gown.”

           “So you speak English?”

            “Only for your benefit.” He said walking off. Dora jumped on her feet and followed.

     “So what is your name?” she had been curious for a while.

      The short man paused and announced, “ I am Winter, the highest Shreek of Winbugry.” With the straightest back and the loudest voice anyone had ever seen or heard.

        Dora froze. What had this man done? Now, he must have called the trees to come after them, when she just barely escaped them the other day. Dora looked at him, ready to throw him as far as she could but she made a mistake not even the bravest bear could, she looked at a Shreek in the eyes. They were as cold and dark as the midnight sky, it seemed like he had trapped several souls on them.

         Dora trembled within, she wanted to scream, she wanted to beg him not to hurt her but she thought better of it, what did she have to live for, if she stayed here any longer, she would die, maybe not from hunger but something was bound to kill her and if she wanted too stay alive to get home, there was nothing there, no one she wanted to see.

          She waited for her end either quick or long, she preferred it quick but the dwarf stayed still, as if he had frozen too. Then very slowly, the dwarf blinked pulling her out of the trance.

         Dora breathed and fell to the ground but Winter just turned around and walked off, crunching leaves beneath his feet. Dora got up and followed him. She thought that if she could manage to get him angry, it would probably mean her early end and even if the trees were to come with their horrific death, she was sure that she was in safe hands. All these thoughts gave her motivation.

       “What is a Winscot?” she asked.

        “A beautiful female creature, she uses her beauty to seduce men.”

        “And sleeps with them, right.”she said

        “For their souls.” He whispered rather mournfully.

           It was silent after that, Dora did not ask any questions and the Shreek did not say anything either.  They walked until they came to the end of the clear path. Dora stayed still behind Winter. With all the trees standing in front of them, she was almost sure they would be torn to shreds, she first. The Shreek seemed unbothered and went to one. Fruits dropped on their own accord, Dora just watched with surprise as he picked the fruits from the ground and not a single tree moved. The Shreek set them on the ground before her and told her to eat. 

        Of course, Dora obliged. She was sure the worms in her stomach were already eating her intestines, not that she cared.  She and the Shreek ,Winter ate to their fill and after eating, he sang some songs of a Jolly heart. It’s more likely  that the songs were truly jolly because Dora fell asleep the next minute without saying 'thank you' to Winter. When she woke up the next morning to say thank you, Winter was gone.