A Day in the Garden

Maybe there was a shift in the wind. Perhaps a tiny misjudgement. Could be you were tired, but you bounced off the stem of a flower and lost forward motion. A tumbling drop and you land on a soft surface that feels like nothing you’ve ever felt before. Your hooked feet catch on the weave of a delicate fabric. It’s very strong and you cannot pull free. Your efforts cause you to lose balance and tip sideways. A frantic heave and the fabric breaks releasing your leg, but you slip into the hole you’ve just made. The fabric sticks to your skin sucking you back every time you try to move away.

She is hungry, hasn’t eaten for over a week. A long time, even for her kind. Almost in torpor inside the darkness she created, the vibrations outside snap her to crystal-sharp consciousness. Her elastic legs propel her to the light. She stops at the entrance to her cave: assessing.

You sense movement – feel a slight change in the tension of the fabric. Instinct takes over from panic and you freeze, aware a stand-off is about to begin.

She waits. She has a large hoard of patience. Could it be a false alarm? A falling leaf? Time will tell. Sizzling with anticipation, all of her eyes are alert for movement. Hairs on her legs feel for the slightest reverberation.

You don’t know what you are in, but you know you are in danger. You always seemed to know places like this must be avoided, but you didn't know why. Trying not to move, you tense every muscle in your body ready for one enormous effort. You can hold on no more. You stretch your wings and attempt a frantic take-off.

In a hundredth of a second she knows where you are; how big you are; if you are dangerous. By the next hundredth she’s already at your side, waiting for the effect of her lightning twin-fanged bite to calm you.

You feel no pain. A tranquillity descends. You are distantly aware of trying to move your legs and wings. You feel yourself being clamped and carried on the wind across the fabric and into darkness. In the pitch black you offer no resistance as needles pierce your flesh and commence to drink in your life’s blood.