Excellent work, Vanya. You perfectly captured the feeling of childhood, a part of it at least, being lost beyond all recovery no matter how desperately one tries. Five counts too soon it ends, and all the memories are like pictures to the sight, able to be touched, but not... exactly.
Truth be told, this tale reminds me, in spirit and not style, of Clark Ashton Smith's "The Last Incantation" (linked here, for the curious:
I was an only child until I was nearly thirteen, and to all intents and purposes remained so, as having a sister so much younger than me meant I escaped and also missed out on the annoyances of sibling competition, irritation and companionship. I always wanted an older brother, which of course, was impossible. I used to imagine playing hide and seek with the imaginary brother, and never quite being able to find the real him. This beautiful, strange, parallel word-esque story reminded me of that. It’s beautifully written. It made me feel a little homesick for the past.
Love this! Such a magical, delicate interpretation of the prompt!
I totally agree! Isn’t there an interesting connection between your two pieces?
Yes!!
❤️
Excellent work, Vanya. You perfectly captured the feeling of childhood, a part of it at least, being lost beyond all recovery no matter how desperately one tries. Five counts too soon it ends, and all the memories are like pictures to the sight, able to be touched, but not... exactly.
Truth be told, this tale reminds me, in spirit and not style, of Clark Ashton Smith's "The Last Incantation" (linked here, for the curious:
http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/short-stories/112/the-last-incantation)
Fascinating reading, Eros. I hadn’t read the story in this way!
❤️
I was an only child until I was nearly thirteen, and to all intents and purposes remained so, as having a sister so much younger than me meant I escaped and also missed out on the annoyances of sibling competition, irritation and companionship. I always wanted an older brother, which of course, was impossible. I used to imagine playing hide and seek with the imaginary brother, and never quite being able to find the real him. This beautiful, strange, parallel word-esque story reminded me of that. It’s beautifully written. It made me feel a little homesick for the past.
Hi, where can I find ‘WildFlower’ art? Thanks.
https://zoraleigh.substack.com/s/bananas-and-bunnies
Thanks
Her work is tremendous, isn’t it?
It is. I’m just looking at a few works now
Took me back to my childhood. I’m the youngest with two older sisters who were always incredibly good at hiding, much to my annoyance. Great story.