“Come!” whispered the voice of a siren. “You know you want to! Come, explore, enjoy, relax. . . your future is here with us!”
Curiosity outweighed fear. She took one step forward, focusing on the arch at the far side of the circle. Dark, velvety, warm, beckoning. . . .
“Yesssss, that’s right! You won’t regret it! Come, come. We love you! We’ll treasure you! We understand you! Come!”
A shiver rolled over her body from head to toe, pimpling her skin as it passed. She hesitated, feeling the pull of those arches; feeling the chill in her soul.
“Come!” She sensed the evil, too late.
Just Writing! 
Nah. I don’t believe a tree can be evil
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There were some pretty creepy ones in lots of fairy tales 🙂
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Yes, yes there are some really scary trees. I get total Keep Out vibes from that pic too. Keep Out and Come Hither at the same time. Love the re-working of the siren motif. I think it is the same basic thing.
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Sirens on dry land?
Scary stuff
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Sometimes you have to stretch the myth just a little 🙂
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Chilling. I would run in the other direction from that tree!
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Me too. My curiosity isn’t that strong!
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Don’t go, don’t go! Oh well, too late… Nice one.
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That’s how it happens! Evil is never dressed in red, wearing horns, and carrying a pitchfork. Good chiller, Linda.
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So true. Evil is attractive only until it has you in its clutches. Thanks 🙂
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You’re very welcome, Linda.
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Ouch! Didn’t her mother tell her? Scary story, Linda. I like it!
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Maybe her mother never foresaw anything this weird 🙂
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Shiver me timbers to bits… that was spooky! Evil is like that, enticing us so well that we don’t realize the reality until it is too late, eh. Great story, with an even greater lesson! Love the new page layout… may I ask what theme you are using. I really don’t like mine and I’m looking for something different.
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I haven’t changed my layout for a very long time. I do change my header on the first of each month. I can’t remember what my layout is called. I’ll see if I can find it.
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Thanks.
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Found it. My theme is called Lovecraft.
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Great! Thanks.
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How appropriate for the story!
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just another case of curiosity killing the cat. when will we ever learn?
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I don’t think we will.
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Creepy! Nicely done 🙂
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Dear Linda,
Oh the sweet lure of evil. Well told creepiness.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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🙂
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I would have been right in there as well 😦 Evil always looks very tempting until you realise – too late – what it really is.
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The sweet attraction of evil – just a passing phase – before the real business gets started.
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Yes. The Bible talks about the “pleasures of sin” as lasting for only a short time before the price must be paid.
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Oh my! I suspected evil lurking when the “too good to be true” pitch started. Well done!
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If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is 🙂
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You build your story very well, Linda. And what a strong lure is that “We understand you.”!
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It’s what we all want to hear, isn’t it?
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They never can seem to catch the evil in time!
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Evil is very practiced and expert at disguising itself. I always liked the application of how banks teach new tellers to recognize counterfeit money: They make them intimately familiar with the real thing.
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True. And that’s interesting about the banks
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Isn’t it? We won’t recognize the phony if we don’t know the true!
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Absolutely!
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Ooo I like this. The siren plays on insecurities. Great stuff.
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Insecurities, for sure. Glad you caught that.
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Thank heaven that I have never have felt such evil radiating from a tree. As trees give me so much pleasure, but I still enjoyed reading your offering this week
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I love trees, always have–long before tree hugging became a thing 🙂
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Yes, you show how our curiosity overcomes our instinctive fear – and sometimes we get it wrong.
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As they say, curiosity killed the cat—–but satisfaction brought it back. Trouble is, they have nine lives, I hear 🙂
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With that beautiful tree, I would havw fallen right in. The pretty promises, however, would have scared me off. They sound too much like proselytizing. Great interpretation of the picture!
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Proselytizing. Interesting word to apply here, and quite fitting. Cults do tend to prey on our insecurities, promising us that they alone can bring us peace and joy.
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Yup, that’s what I meant to say. If it sounds too good to be true, beware!
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She sensed the evil too late. No! Chilling tale indeed.
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As a kid, I would have run right into that. No sirens necessary. I still might.
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🙂
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Great story. I’m hoping she finds some way to escape.
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Never, never listen to voices from dark places.
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She should have heeded her first hesitation – too late by only a moment is still too late by a country mile!
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Good point, Liz.
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It’s not about the plants. It’s about who is hiding among them
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Creepy and true 🙂
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Ooh! Creepy! You’ve gone dark Linda. I liked the story.
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I dip my toe in the dark side every now and then. It’s not my natural go-to 🙂
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