Missing Tess - INT2024

   The Creator's long white beard melded with the pillowy cloud upon which he lent with his elbows. He cupped his chin with his hands and marvelled at his creation.

   Below, he admired his fantastic world, rich in plants and animals... a potpourri of life interwoven with nature; towering mountains, nestled valleys, meandering rivers and vast oceans.

   Amidst all that, the jewel that centerpieced it all was the white marble oval pond. Looking much like an eye, the pupil replaced with a three tiered ivory water fountain; whence a continuous jet of water spurted upwards and then fell back as a gentle mist, making the marble glisten like opal.

   The pond teemed with creatures of myriad variety; both above and below the waterline. Amongst them, an extraordinary duck, pearly white plumage, which contrasted with her gleaming black eyes and reddish-orange beak and legs, rivalling the juiciest Sicilian blood oranges. He had named her, Tess.

   The Creator was immensely proud of his design. Not only outwardly beautiful, but inside; a fiery soul contraposed with a gentle, empathic and generous demeanor.

   Tess also had particular traits that some envied, yet, many others admired. Speed was one of these; flitting over the pond at breakneck speed, skirting the grassy edges in long, arcing drifts. Although, she didn't guard her secrets, instead, sharing and teaching, with contagious gusto, those skills to her brethren.

   Tess's nurturing nature was not limited to the pond, but extended to a small clearing in a nearby forest, which she had discovered during her contemplative wanderings. There, she mothered an old gnarly apple tree. Tess pecked away the moss and collected twigs; making sheltered havens for the tiniest of The Creator's inventions.

   She was also ingenious, the MacGyver of the pond. One day, the fountain had stopped showering the pond. Tess had quickly figured out the problem... and the solution. She found a long reed and, Intrepidly, dove deep down into the pond, to the base of the fountain. Deftly, she prodded and prised at a silvery grate, removing a bunch of accumulated mulch that had blocked the water's path.

   Unfortunately, at those depths lurked a nefarious nemesis. The blackest of eels, unbathed by the loving and warming rays of the sun. This malevolent eel nipped at Tess's webbed feet, dragging her further down into the abyss of the pond, menacing her very existence.

   Running short of air, Tess stealthy and as slippery as a torpedo, dove upwards, plunging out of the water and to the safety of the grassy bank, once again amongst the cosseting love of the pond's community.

   The Creator, witnessing the evilness that he had mistakingly placed in this domain, made amends. With his pinky finger, he gouged an infinitely deep chasm way beneath the pond and condemned the dark eel to forever languish in the deepest obscurity and cold blackness.

   Over time, Tess demonstrated, equalled and surpassed all of The Creator's expectations. So much so that it was time to promote her. Thus, one night, The Creator gently plucked the slumbering Tess from beneath the old apple tree and lovingly took her up in his cusped hands. She was destined to a higher realm, away from harm, decay and pain.

   As dawn broke, the other animals, in and around the pond, searched desperately for Tess. Their far-reaching laments echoed across the water, even reaching the weeping fruit tree and miniscule creatures in the forest. They were all missing Tess immensely, but, for some inexplicable reason, the whole community felt compelled to visit Tess's twiggy sanctuary. Once there, they waited patiently for a sign from The Creator, who, with a gentle puff from his nostril, blew away the top of a mounded blanket of autumn leaves.

   To the astonishment of all the reverential onlookers, a solitary, glowing, pearly-white egg was revealed; Tess's legacy. With a twinkle of The Creator's eye, the sun obeyed and washed the egg with radiance, tempering the frosty air and warming it tenderly. The revelling crowd rejoiced; even the tree towering above, opened its branches, spawned new leaves and bore the sweetest, reddest apples, ever.

   Finally, with a twitch of an eyebrow, he made the miracle happen. The egg began to pitch and roll, toing and froing, until a tiny hole appeared. Through it, a miniature reddish-orange beak peaked out. The hole widened and a definite crack was heard by all, followed by a symphony of whimpers, and then, a cacophony of little quacks... Tess's greatest achievement was born.

~~ The End ~~

Nice tale, Encia. I enjoy watching ducks, geese, and swans in the wild.

Cheers

a reply to: Encia22

In the wild nicely done!!!

a reply to: Encia22

What a beautiful story! You have such a great talent for painting a picture with words!

a reply to: F2d5thCavv2

Thanks F2d5thCavv2!

Yes, those feathery friends are all beautiful. I also love parrots and owls very much.

a reply to: JJproductions

Cheers JJ!

I believe that animals in the wild seem more respectful and amiable than their human counterparts... although, there is good and bad in both worlds.

a reply to: nugget1

That's lovely of you to say, nugget!

Ironically, the way I develop my stories is quite the opposite. I first picture and play out the story in my mind; I rely on visual prompts. Only then do I move on to the painful writing process, never really satisfied that I'm able to convey the picture board in my mind.

In the end, even if it's not the complete picture, I hope it will be enough for the reader to fill in the blanks.

Also, I rarely come up with a story for pleasure. There's always a hidden message, usually personal and painful, that I know the reader will miss. So, in the end, I'm not sure if it is more an exercise to purge my feelings, than to entertain the reader. I guess that when there's a crossover, then that's mission accomplished.

a reply to: Encia22

Tess must've been an awesome duck.


The newborn seems like a good egg too.

a reply to: 19Bones79

Thanks, 19Bones79!

Absolutely, she was incredible, but taken by The Creator much to early, yet, those few golden years were worth a lifetime of teachings for the residents of the pond and forest.

And yes, with Tess's strong DNA, her young duckling will surely thrive and not be alone. The Community will not abandon her, and ensure that baby duck knows all about her mother's rich and variegated life.

a reply to: Encia22

Ironically, the way I develop my stories is quite the opposite. I first picture and play out the story in my mind; I rely on visual prompts.

I respectfully disagree. Your words paint the picture that has formed in your mind so the rest of us can visualize what you are seeing; no easy task, and well done!

There's always a hidden message, usually personal and painful, that I know the reader will miss.

You may be underestimating the empathic abilities of your audience; you'd be surprised how many people can see behind laughing eyes. Every one of your contributions has had a haunting undertone of sadness that is finally being released.

Funny how so many can relate to the 'unsaid' pain in a story without even realizing it's there.
I think there are mostly two kinds of people; those who see the world from an emotional standpoint, and those who see it from an intellectual viewpoint. Seldom do people learn to use the brain and the heart together to view the world stage.

a reply to: nugget1

I respectfully disagree.

Your words paint the picture that has formed in your mind so the rest of us can visualize what you are seeing; no easy task, and well done!

I'm humbled, nugget, thank you. You're like an angel on my shoulder, egging me on. Self-esteem and accepting praise are not my strongest traits.

You may be underestimating the empathic abilities of your audience; you'd be surprised how many people can see behind laughing eyes...

Funny how so many can relate to the 'unsaid' pain in a story without even realizing it's there.
I think there are mostly two kinds of people; those who see the world from an emotional standpoint, and those who see it from an intellectual viewpoint. Seldom do people learn to use the brain and the heart together to view the world stage.

I find that an eye-opener! Yes, over the years I've lost faith in people's capacity for empathy; a negative side effect of the internet, bad media reporting, the 24/7 lifestyle and losing touch with reality. I wonder, percentage-wise, if that sensitivity is across the board, or if there's a downward decline from our generation to the youngsters of today.

To the two types of people you described, I would add the pragmatic sort. Those who don't appreciate the finer things in life, like art, music, cuisine, nature... and possibly, true love; let alone, any inkling to help their fellow neighbours.

Thanks again for helping me unwrangle the confusion that often reigns supreme in my head.

a reply to: Encia22

When I was 20 the only way I could deal with life was through writing poetry. It took many, many long years and life lessons for my heart and mind to sync, but when it did the war stopped.

I look forward to your next installment!

a reply to: nugget1

I hear ya, nugget! I did the same in my late teens, but via art and photography. The rage within me wouldn't let up, so I started clicking and drawing (no computers at the time), and never stopped... only migrating to digital once it was available.

For the next installment I'm waiting for Lilibet to grow a little older and wiser.

I miss your writing, nugget... do you still have those poetic works from that time period?

a reply to: Encia22

I like this a lot. Very descriptive but not overdone. Well done Encia. I always enjoy your writings and I'm thankful you take the time to share them with us.



blend

a reply to: blend

Cheers Blend! I’m so pleased you liked it. I appreciate your feedback… it makes sharing our stories even more worthwhile.



I think we were spared my more long-winded narratives because this story was not planned. It came to me as I awoke from a restless sleep a few days ago, intending to just jot down what I could recall. In the end, I started writing and before long, it was done. Editing time was much shorter than usual and it was ready for posting that same day… all that on my cellphone during my usual Saturday tour of shopping duty… and only one cup of coffee!

a reply to: Encia22

I really liked this one... Brava!

I really enjoy reading something that will frame a picture and leave the rest to the imagination.

It makes the reader fill in the blanks and visualize what they are reading with their own experiences.

So it makes it personal.

Again, well done! I enjoyed it.



ETA... I had to come back to say this. How you described how you write in the comments section is exactly what I have to do... some thought crawls into my head, I make a movie of it and then try to capture the visuals with words.

Generally there is an underlying theme involved, a second story arc that is something that I am dealing with but nobody will ever know it.

Happy to see that I'm not the only crazy story writer out there...

I read the story a while ago and it touched me back then. That doesn't happen often.

You have a way of writing that - as others have said - draws pictures in my head.

Like a short film I've never seen before, except it looked very familiar.

a reply to: Naftalin

I appreciate your feedback, Naftalin!

This story basically wrote itself. I didn’t need to do any research for it; it was already in my head and heart. I painted in words what my impression of Tess was from having interacted with her, and reading her stories, posts and daily visits to the Discord channel. It’s only a fragment and fast forwarded, but I had hoped to touch on some of her most important traits or at least the ones I knew about.

I’m happy you find it “familiar”, that’s the best testament that shows me that I presented Tess as others saw her.