LJ Idol Week 11: Wild Goose Chase
In the land of the living, wild geese are known to be rather aggressive. It is not uncommon to spot a person enjoying a lovely day by a lake suddenly interrupted by a wild goose performing the avian equivalence of a territorial beating of the chest.
It is not common knowledge, however, that the wild goose is known to be even more aggressive than one could imagine in the land of the dead. Geese are generally accepted to have very good eyesight; however, the land of the living knows no forumalation to assess the eyesight of any creature regarding that which is unseen. It is commonly accepted, for example, that the cat has an incredibly keen eye for the unseen, but this is because cats are not bashful in their examination of curiosities invisible to the human eye and not in any way because humans can actually measure such a thing.
If they could measure such a thing, it would likely be a surprise revelation that the wild goose is near the top of the list of those with brilliant eyesight for the unseen. It is, in fact, a most suprising notion to any who enter the world of the undead and are suddently faced with the unexpected danger of an aggressive wild goose.
When Shanda found herself in the ghost world, she assumed at first it would be a simple sort of non-life. Hers was an unfortunate case of murder by the lake, and her body was well-hidden following the incident, so it appeared she could expect to spend a significant portion of her afterlife as a Lady of the Lake--a glamorous and almost covetous ghostly position; something about the fog resting on the lake in the morning added such an extra layer of gothic class to the haunt. It was a popular location, so her haunting would always be exciting as targets varied from families to teenagers skipping to school to lovers stealing away for an evening. It would have been a rewarding and relaxing afterlife if not for one aggressive factor--the wild geese.
Her lake was swarming with them, and imagine her shock when the first one looked her square in the eye. It was her expectation that the days of eye contact were long gone; she was meant to be a peripheral apparition, always just out of view, always in control. It sent a chill where her spine once was to see a beady orange-rimmed eye staring right at her, fillng up with rage. Now imagine an even more intense shock when she found out that the goose could make physical contact with her and she felt the harsh poke of a beak into her leg. No one in the land of the dead understands why the wild goose seems to be a nemesis to the non-living; it just simply is. Her insticts from living were rusty but still managed to kick in: run.
So Shanda ran, her route taking her around the lake as she was tied to it, the cruel goose beast rising to heights unimagined as it stalked its prey. It was a sight to behold for bystanders--the goose provided such a distraction from what might otherwise be perceived as ghostly whisps that all that remained was the image of a lone mad goose running circles around a lake, flapping violently and forcing its beak into the unknown. Eventally it would tire, but there was always a new day and another goose.
This brought what should've been Shanda's beautiful haunting--a vision in grey and white tendrils, so delicate, wafts of flower petals seeping across still waters, sending a wave of unease to all who dared visit the lake--to a horrid punchline of folks speculating what drove the geese so mad and laughing at the antics on the lake, all the while keeping enough distance that the ghostly figure could not be made out. This would be poor Shanda's fate until the hopeful someday when her body would be found and she would be clipped free from the lake and its nasty wild inhabitants.
This has been my post for Week 11 of therealljidol. When the voting poll is available, I will share it here. I encourage you to read other entries and vote accordingly. I so appreciate any support!
It is not common knowledge, however, that the wild goose is known to be even more aggressive than one could imagine in the land of the dead. Geese are generally accepted to have very good eyesight; however, the land of the living knows no forumalation to assess the eyesight of any creature regarding that which is unseen. It is commonly accepted, for example, that the cat has an incredibly keen eye for the unseen, but this is because cats are not bashful in their examination of curiosities invisible to the human eye and not in any way because humans can actually measure such a thing.
If they could measure such a thing, it would likely be a surprise revelation that the wild goose is near the top of the list of those with brilliant eyesight for the unseen. It is, in fact, a most suprising notion to any who enter the world of the undead and are suddently faced with the unexpected danger of an aggressive wild goose.
When Shanda found herself in the ghost world, she assumed at first it would be a simple sort of non-life. Hers was an unfortunate case of murder by the lake, and her body was well-hidden following the incident, so it appeared she could expect to spend a significant portion of her afterlife as a Lady of the Lake--a glamorous and almost covetous ghostly position; something about the fog resting on the lake in the morning added such an extra layer of gothic class to the haunt. It was a popular location, so her haunting would always be exciting as targets varied from families to teenagers skipping to school to lovers stealing away for an evening. It would have been a rewarding and relaxing afterlife if not for one aggressive factor--the wild geese.
Her lake was swarming with them, and imagine her shock when the first one looked her square in the eye. It was her expectation that the days of eye contact were long gone; she was meant to be a peripheral apparition, always just out of view, always in control. It sent a chill where her spine once was to see a beady orange-rimmed eye staring right at her, fillng up with rage. Now imagine an even more intense shock when she found out that the goose could make physical contact with her and she felt the harsh poke of a beak into her leg. No one in the land of the dead understands why the wild goose seems to be a nemesis to the non-living; it just simply is. Her insticts from living were rusty but still managed to kick in: run.
So Shanda ran, her route taking her around the lake as she was tied to it, the cruel goose beast rising to heights unimagined as it stalked its prey. It was a sight to behold for bystanders--the goose provided such a distraction from what might otherwise be perceived as ghostly whisps that all that remained was the image of a lone mad goose running circles around a lake, flapping violently and forcing its beak into the unknown. Eventally it would tire, but there was always a new day and another goose.
This brought what should've been Shanda's beautiful haunting--a vision in grey and white tendrils, so delicate, wafts of flower petals seeping across still waters, sending a wave of unease to all who dared visit the lake--to a horrid punchline of folks speculating what drove the geese so mad and laughing at the antics on the lake, all the while keeping enough distance that the ghostly figure could not be made out. This would be poor Shanda's fate until the hopeful someday when her body would be found and she would be clipped free from the lake and its nasty wild inhabitants.
This has been my post for Week 11 of therealljidol. When the voting poll is available, I will share it here. I encourage you to read other entries and vote accordingly. I so appreciate any support!