I wanted it to be unique. Here it is...exactly 200 words.
*Awake and moving, I step gingerly through the briar. The
early morning shows my breath frosty in the air. A light slumber and the biting
chill of night might have these bones a little rickety, I might be slightly grayer
than seasons past, but I am wiser too. My instinct tells me it is time to go. I
walk, stop, look and listen, my senses on fire as I scan the woods with dawn’s
light upon me. Through many a season I have learned the art of being unseen, I
have learned to trust the wind, and I have learned that patience will rule the
day. I know these woods well, from the moss covered rocks to the countless
rotting stumps; those lingering ghosts that whisper tales of their past glory. Warming
up slightly I continue to slowly move; walk, stop, look, listen. The woods are
alive, but still, and movement betrays all of its treasures. I close in on a
clearing I know well, where oaks grow tall. The winds mysteriously shift,
therefore so do I and a new scent catches my attention. The acorns will wait
and I move on undetected, while the man in the tree remains.*
Hopefully you realized the plot twist at the very end. I gather the majority of those who would ever read that passage are hunters and would easily assume the narrator was also a hunter. Not until the very end do we realize the story is being told from the perspective of the deer. Sure, that helped me make a unique story, but it also helped me explore something I have long considered, the similarities between predator and prey. With a trace amount of ambiguity I was able to mask the true identity of the narrator.
I think if I ever have the time, this "very" short story might turn into a longer more in-depth study, but for now hopefully some of you can enjoy it, since this might be the only way it will ever see the light of day. But hey, if I win, there is a pretty sweet LL Bean jacket in my future.
I welcome any feedback.
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