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Week 2 Story (A Man's Defeat)

The trek was lonely and isolating. Only surrounded by a forest of trees. A surprising whisper interrupted his journey. He knew, "I am not alone." The whispers only grew stronger. He peered to his right and saw a wise older woman. The night continued. He was beckoned to sleep by the call of dreams and the promise of rest. When suddenly and with great fright, he heard another woman wail, "My son! My son!" Fearing for his safety but unwilling to out himself in direct harm's way, he decided to tear a small hole in the blanket he was under. Peering through to catch a look. Without warning, he was frightened to hear footsteps steadily approaching his place of rest. He peered through the blanket and was stunned to see the woman in clear light. She was old, adorned with beads and riches. The woman did not hesitate in her gate. Instead she readily approached the man, believing him  to be fast asleep. Slowly, she raised his one foot and and began to cut it with a large, sharp knife. The man jumped up and quickly questioned her. The older woman ran off screaming. Just as fearful of the man as he is of her. The night went on without a peep. Both from the man and from the mysterious woman. Not long after, as the man prepared for his nightly dinner, he heard a faint hum. With a gust of courage, the man shouted, "Who is there?" A woman appeared from the darkness and asked him to spare a portion of his dinner. "I have no food," the man responded. The woman, wiser than the man knew answers, "I already know that you have plenty of food to share." So the man and the woman shared a meal. Towards the end of the meal, when the food was scarce and their stomachs were full, the woman began to take off her long, adorned robe to reveal nothing but fragile bones with a harsh white hue. The woman spoke, "Let us fight. If you win, you have proved yourself worthy of a million horses and a million gifts." Hesitantly, the young man agreed but not before he threw additional thrush on top of the fire, watching the flames erupt. They began to fight. A pattern was noticeable to the man. As the woman drew farther from the fire, she would become weaker, but as she neared the fire, her strength would multiply. Morning came quickly and the fighting had not ceased. In one final effort, the man threw more brush on the fire and watched as the explosion engulfed the woman. The man won the fight and proved himself worthy of the gifts that came. This is why people always believe what ghosts tell them.

Author's Note:
If you read my previous post, you know just how much I enjoyed this story. It was a very well done tale full of surprises and exquisite details. In my own adaption, I worked to ensure that the utilization of imagery was still as prevalent as it was in the original adaption. It was important to me to keep the essence of the story while still providing a new, somewhat modern take on the piece. I am pretty happy with the way it came out.

Bibliography:
Katherine Berry Judson. 1913. The Indian Who Wrestled with a Ghost. https://sites.google.com/view/mythfolkloreanthology/the-supernatural?authuser=0

Here is a bit of a fun image below that describes what I feel this fight might have looked like:


Comments

  1. Hello, Lauryn!

    First off, I love the image you have to represent this incredible tale! I, too, chose to write over this story as it struck me as incredibly interesting and unique. I really enjoyed your unique use of shorter sentences and the fact that you made the second ghost a woman, as well. It adds a cool twist to the story! I also appreciate that you kept the writing detailed and yet to the point--this added to the suspense and helps draw the reader in to the tale!

    Great job with this story and I look forward to seeing your other tales this semester!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey, Lauryn!

    Great job retelling the story and maintaining the integrity of the original version! I like that it stayed pretty true to form -- sometimes it's easy to lose sight of what you're trying to use as a model. Your picture also made me laugh -- not nearly as scary as I imagined the skeletal woman! I look forward to reading your next story!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey, Lauryn! I really like your story. You used a lot of imagery to tell your story, which I always appreciate as a reader. I didn't read last week's story, but I assume this is a continuation of last week's story, so I don't understand some of the story. I wonder why this man was being haunted in this manner, especially with the older woman almost cutting off his foot. I wish you would have given some clarity as to who this ghost is, and what she wants from this man. I also wonder about the man's background. Why is he on this trek? Why is he able to sense paranormal activity?
    I like the story, but it was very difficult to read because it was all one paragraph. Maybe you could separate the story into multiple paragraphs to make it easier to read, or you could make the font bigger.
    Great read!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello, Lauryn!

    I am honestly not quite sure what to make of this story you have written for us. It took several turns that I was not expecting. At first, I thought that it would be some sort of horror story, and then I thought that the man would end up having some sort of sympathy for the old woman – not that they would fight!

    Great story!

    ReplyDelete

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