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This
delightful and enchanting story was chosen to appear in
Bright Light Multimedia's latest anthology,
“Speaking of Love”.
For your pleasure and perusal, we present an extract
from ...
The Man of Straw
Alva stirred the pot as she gazed out of her kitchen window at the white surroundings, clear sky and frozen ground. Tall trees grew heavy with the weight of snow on their branches. Grey boulders had white caps. Tall grass that grew in summer was now buried under snow. The stream that tinkled over smooth pebbles was now iced over. Everything that once had life was now covered in a bleak colour. Alva couldn’t help but feel the same.
A hand made from straw placed itself upon Alva’s shoulder. Alva patted it, as she turned to the man of straw.
"It’s okay, my love. I’m just thinking."
The man of straw looked with his painted-blue eyes on Hessian fabric, trying to express compassion. If his red-painted lips could move, he would speak words of warmth and comfort. But he couldn’t. He was only a man made from straw.
Alva took the pot from the stove to a wooden table and poured its contents into a clay bowl. She sat down on a rickety chair and waited for the soup to cool.
Alva stared with longing at the silent man sitting opposite her, at his features that she had used her secret arts to conjure a likeness of the only man she loved.
"If only I wasn’t myself."
Alva considered herself ugly with frayed hair, a crooked nose and blotchy complexion. She felt pudgy and not what a real man would want to love.
"I am who I am, and who I am, is not who I want to be."
She sipped the hot broth from a wooden spoon and felt the trickle of warmth find her belly. The taste was bland and Alva decided she wasn’t hungry. She stood from the table and opened the front door.
Alva stepped out and felt the crunch of snow beneath her black boots. She trudged past the evergreen and the place where wild flowers grew in warmer climates. She went back to where she had met her love. Alva sat down upon a bare boulder, under the cool shade of an overhanging branch. She hugged her knees as she watched the muddy road.
On this very road, some time ago, a wagon had become stuck. A man named Dwight levered a bogged down wagon wheel with a length of timber. He had been there for a long while and was just about to give up when Alva had approached from out the trees.
"Are you okay?"
"My wagon," said Dwight, "it’s stuck and I need to be at the markets by
midday."
Alva had hesitated. Not many people came this way and for reasons she knew all too well. Yet the man was obviously in trouble and he seemed like a kind soul.
"Here, let me help."
The
complete story can now be found in Bright Light
Multimedia’s latest publication
Speaking of
Love
-
positive and uplifting short stories and poems about
romance, marriage and true love -
Click here for more information
Editor: "The Man of
Straw" is a wonderful story – in fact, we like it so
much, we chose it to go into our book about the joys and
wonder of love – “Speaking of Love”. If you know someone
who enjoys feeling good all over, then this is the
perfect present for them. Remember you deserve to feel
happy too. Why not give yourself the gift that keeps on
giving – “Speaking of Love”.
Stillwater Cottage
Limited Edition
Kinkade, Thomas
Buy at AllPosters.com
Reviews
(applause received) 
Alison Pearce
Australia
"A very
unique and wonderfully told tale! Bravo!"
Be
the next to review this story - click here.
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