By Eleanor Marsden
THIRD PLACE in February Competition
She readjusted her vantage point until everything was in view, reassured that he couldn’t see her through the tangle of leaves.
Silhouetted by the blanket of snow, he cut an impressive figure. He was darker than she’d remembered, with more of a haughty countenance, standing quite motionless as he surveyed the landscape. It was all his, she knew, right across to the far woods skirting the fields. The knowledge sent an imperceptible thrill across her skin. He looked powerful; she could see in his dark eyes that he was uncompromising. Defiantly masculine… She imagined being close enough to see herself reflected in the depths of his gaze and a tiny, almost imperceptible note of longing escaped into the air.
He shifted on his long legs to face her. She felt the down on her skin prickle and a blush creep over her chest in a reaction that had nothing to do with the biting chill. It was almost as though he could see her through her hiding place, through to her very core. For a moment she considered emerging into the daylight, imagined his reaction: would he fly to her, calling her name… Or perhaps not; perhaps now she was nothing to him… What if he had forgotten her entirely and would not welcome her intrusion into his closely-guarded privacy? Her heart fluttered wildly in her chest as she saw him move in her direction.
‘Oh, look!’ The woman caught her husband’s arm and gestured towards the window. ‘There, in the ivy: another robin! That same feather bent sideways; wasn’t she the one that nested with Bob last summer?’
In the garden, the resident robin puffed up his chest and swooped in to greet his coy, returning mate.
A great set up and a great tongue in cheek story, I knew they weren’t humans, although I didn’t guess they were robins, despite the clues. A lovely original twist. Well done.
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