The Shadow-Plant

It was a sunny day when Joy went into the river. Unsuspecting, he enjoyed the blue of the water. Thick cotton candy clouds passed over him and the landscape glowed in a lush green.

Yesterday he met a dog buddy. Fernando the French Bulldog told him about a monster in the river. He would have heard that a Chihuahua was missing. He told him about a large catfish that lived there and devoured unsuspecting dogs.

Joy smiled and thought nothing of it. He has been in the river many times and the catfish were nowhere near as big as everyone said. There are some upstream, but not here.

While Joy was having fun in the water, he suddenly felt observed. A strange feeling came over him and he took a sip of water. Sometimes his imagination played a trick on him and a drink of river water would bring him back to reality.

While he was drooling, the feeling that something was creeping up overcame him more and more.
Should Fernando be right? Was it a huge catfish that wanted to eat him?

The feeling that something was sneaking up got bigger and bigger.

Suddenly he remembered an old dog around here. All the dogs in the village talked about him. It was a large German Shepherd that lived here many years ago. Small puppies often sat with him and listened to his stories.

Many dogs smiled at him for inventing all the stories, but the puppies enjoyed themselves and the parents had a little peace of mind.

One story was about a shadow-plant.

During her lifetime she stood on the bank and was happy. One day a dog peed on her and marked his territory. It was rumored that he left a message of love for a bitch. The next day another dog came and wrote over the message. The bitch passed by later and was disappointed that her lover hadn't answered.

In grief, she dug up the plant and threw it into the river. Since then, it is said, the shadow of the plant appears when a male with a good heart bathes in the river. The shadow-plant carries the soul of the bitch who is waiting for her loved one.

Joy felt something touching him. He wasn't sure anymore and thought it will be better to get out of the water. He didn't felt threatened but for a strange reason he was thinking about that bitch. He knew she had found peace but couldn't explain why.

It was a sunny day and the water was blue. Thick cotton candy clouds passed over and the landscape glowed in a lush green when the shadow-plant was touching a dog for the last time.

The End

This is an entry for this weeks Shadow Hunter Contest.

If you haven't heard of it yet please check it out. It is a welcoming Community where you can be creative around the topics "Shadows" and "Reflections".

The written stories can be anything since we all carry shadows and reflections within ourselves. Just find a motive, take nice pictures and create a story around it.

For those uncertain about their pictures I have written a small guide on smartphone photography so feel free to take a look at it here.

Follow the contest rules and just have fun in this Community.