It was her time; honeysuckle fragrance hung heavily on the warm night air, even crickets croaked distractedly in the hedgerows. It seemed the world had slowed – nature itself was waiting.
The first silver coil spiralled lazily from the window opposite, quickly followed by others. They shimmered, hovering by the rooftop, twisting tentatively as if testing the boundaries of their surroundings.
She closed her eyes as the final stages of her metamorphosis unfurled. Tonight she’d be going home; she’d be reunited with her own kind, and welcomed as much for herself as for her harvest.
More silver coils appeared around her, joined now by agitated scarlet trails, girating wildly. They too must be captured, but not by her, and probably not tonight.
“Go!” echoed the urgent whisper from the universe, and she launched herself across the rooftops, snatching at the silver threads, securing them to the silken rope hanging around her waist, selecting only the strongest filaments circling above the town.
“Take us,” cried the angry red threads dancing impatiently on the breeze, watching the harvest taking place around them.
“Not my mission,” she whispered, “someone else will come for you, someone stronger.”
Their anger sizzled noisily, and she drew back, her precious cargo intact. Whoever came for those red filaments would have their work cut out. It may even be her, but she hoped not.
Dawn was breaking; she must hurry. She glanced at the threads dangling from her belt. These should keep her masters busy for eons to come.
She soared past her apartment, giving one final glance. Her lover would grieve her disappearance, and she’d miss him too. Perhaps in the future some other catcher would bring her his dreams, and they’d reunite, however briefly.
But now she was returning home, with a harvest of silver dreams to please her people, keeping them occupied for centuries as they developed a profile of the strange species that had plundered this precious, verdant planet.
And then they’d decide what to do.
This week’s Trifecta Challenge was the word Time, to be used as shown in the third definition below and in no more than 333 words. I’ve not entered for a few weeks, and had forgotten the 333 word limit. I had to edit this down from 700! Hope it works for you.
TIME (noun)
1a : the measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues : duration
b : a nonspatial continuum that is measured in terms of events which succeed one another from past through present to future
c : leisure <time for reading>
2: the point or period when something occurs : occasion
3a : an appointed, fixed, or customary moment or hour for something to happen, begin, or end <arrived ahead of time>
b : an opportune or suitable moment <decided it was time to retire> —often used in the phrase about time <about time for a change>
Beautifully written.
I like the twist on dreamcatcher harvesting the dreams. The idea of someone analyzing my dreams is a bit unnerving, though.
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Thank you. You never know who’s watching. 😉
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You kind of have a body snatcher feel to your story, Sandra. I was wondering what her game was and liked how you have her soaring past her apartment. The red threads with their anger sizziling noisily was very vivid. I like this a lot.
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Thanks Ted, glad you liked it. Sorry to be late acknowledging – trouble with WordPress.
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Love your story, Sandra. Very well written.
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Thank you Catherine.
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Such an amazing imagination you have (:
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Keeps me awake nights, Draug! 🙂 Thanks.
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This is amazing writing!
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Thank you!
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The man was created so that cosmos could think. It may well read …….. so the cosmos could dream. 🙂
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True; thank you for dropping by.
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Very nicely written! Well done!
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Thank you Joe.
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I just read this and see how similar my story is to yours – Not intentional!
I love the grabbing of the strongest filaments; I love the sizzling anger. A really nice write.
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Great minds… 🙂 Thanks.
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oh, my . . . love this – I do love this type of tale and you have done well with it.
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Thanks Barbara.
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Wow. I really love this. Fantastical and surprising.
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Thank you.
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Fascinating story! I spent the first half trying to get my bearings on what she was doing, but I was intrigued by her gathering of sliver, and the angry red threads. Taking back the silver dreams was cool. I think I’d stay away from the red ones, too. They are probably the terrors where you wake up screaming, heart pounding.
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Exactly! Thank you for commenting.
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Vibrant imagery.
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Thank you!
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Wow, that was beautiful. I really like the idea of dream-catchers. Very intriguing.
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Thanks Amanda!
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Wonderful. I’ve never tried to write this kind of piece, but this makes me want to try. It’s lovely. In such few words I got such a feel for the dreamcatcher, and I like her a lot.
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I find it very liberating when I venture into the realms of fantasy… but I can’t do it too often.
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Very descriptive. Love it
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Thank you!
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Absolutely gorgeous imagery. Really well done.
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Thanks!
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What a fascinating concept! Simultaneously beautiful and unnerving.
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Thank you, glad you liked it.
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Your imagery is simple stunning Sandra.
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Thanks! 🙂
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This is fantastic, a great take on dreamcatchers. A great new concept in fantasy.
Katie atBankerchick Scratchings
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Thank you.
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This is very good storytelling an I like the ominous end–
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Thanks Bjorn. 🙂
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Terrific, fanciful story. From the first words I followed you trustingly (because not blindly) into this perfectly formed world. Love it.
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Thanks Kymm. 🙂
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I definitely think it works. It was lovely and mysterious all at the same time.
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Thank you. I was worried I’d lost something by overediting.
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This has a nice, dreamy feel to it. The first paragraph is really very beautiful. Makes me long for summer.
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Me too! Thanks for dropping by.
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I really loved this! I could see this story becoming a whole book . . . which I would happily read 🙂
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Thanks Dayle. I enjoyed writing this.
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What a gem of a piece!Loved the concept & the way you crafted it Sandra-excellent!
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Thank you, I’m glad you liked it.
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