Ah, walking through the bamboo forest is so peaceful….but is it safe?
Stalk
Sanjana Ramanathan
My mother always warned me of ghosts who would bend bamboo stalks, snapping them back as you stepped over. The stories were meant to scare me away from the grove and keep my skirts clean, for once; instead, I practiced sliding under the bent stalks, muddying my entire dress in the process.
I was walking one night and sensed a presence following me. Spooked, I cut through the grove, sliding instinctively beneath a bowed bamboo.
A few moments later: a sharp snap!
I found my would-be assailant, dead on the ground, and heard reedy laughter whistling in the hollow stalks.
Sanjana Ramanathan is an English student at Drexel University. She enjoys playing video games, cracking open a new book, and daydreaming. Her work has been published in The Front Porch Review, Horse Egg Literary, and elsewhere. You can find her on Twitter @sanjubilees.
Work Published with INSIGNIA STORIES:
Mythical Beings of Asia (Insignia Drabbles Vol.4.)
Read more Mythical Drabbles online here!
Featured Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash
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