Stone Soup

Where young artists paint the world with words

The international magazine of stories, poems, and art by young writers and artists. Published continuously since 1973.

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The Snake’s Den (Williams)

Her heart beat erratically in her chest. A nice evening, with only a slight breeze. The whole day had been foggy so she had decided to walk around as soon as the fog had passed by. When she came in, she had immediately noticed mist gathering up in the trees, but thought nothing of it. Ignorance would be her downfall. She had continued walking, noticing many snake-skins on the floor. Once again, she thought nothing of it. She was distracted. Distracted by the enchanting aura of the forest, bewitching her. Slowly, but surely, the spirits were gaining power, feeding off of the human energy. The wind howled slightly with the voices of spirits who tried to fend off the evil energy of the dark night. To their dismay, from the energy taken before the evil had been found empowered them to scream at the other spirits, using the cold mist to create a snake, coiling around the entire forest, entrapping the forest and the things that lived there. She walked, going down-hill. She finally snapped out of her trance when the bewitching aroma turned to a revolting scent. But it was too late. Once somebody fell into a spirit’s trap, there was no leaving. Suddenly, the wind howled, and now she was in a cave on a boat, surrounded by a bottomless pit of water. The coiled snake, which she now knew was a powerful spirit, feeding on her energy to gain power, rose up and changed into a person. A person identical to her. The next day, when “she” came back, she came back changed, as if a spirit were possessing her.