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The Unicorn There's a unicorn in the forest behind my house. I saw him myself. Nobody believes me, but I saw him. Just like in the stories that grampa loves to tell. Oh, he was a handsome stallion with a coat like powdered sugar. How I long to run my hands through his luxurious mane! And that fabled horn, spiralling outward from between the creature's eyes, reaching upward like a lightning road, as if trying to pierce the very heavens. Grampa called it 'alicorn'. I was alone when I saw him. The forest called to me that day. Maybe it was he who desired to see me. I ran off after lunch, leaving my horrid chores behind. The forest is so full of magic and wonder. The adults don't like me going there alone, though. They say it's dangerous. But I don't think it's dangerous. In fact, sometimes it feels safer than being in the village. I was down by the creek when I sensed a feeling of exceptional calm descending on my surroundings. It was that familiar magic I often sensed while exploring the mysteries of the forest, but this time, I somehow felt that I was in for a special treat. The trees sparkled as a gentle breeze rustled the leaves on their branches, scattering the sunlight on its winding trek to the forest floor. I could hear clearly the buzzing of insects and the croaking of toads. I felt happy to be alive. And then I heard something splashing in the creek upstream. It was him. It was the unicorn, clear as day. My skin tingled at the sight of the majestic animal. I wanted instinctively to rub my eyes, but I resisted, for fear of rubbing this glorious vision away for good. The unicorn carried itself gracefully, splashing about in a manner that was playful, whilst projecting a sense of great power - the kind you can't help but respect. Gradually, I became aware of myself, kneeling beside the creek, spying on this animal, and the slightest sense of guilt passed through me. And then it saw me. There was intelligence in his eyes. I've shared secret moments of knowing with horses before, but this was completely different. Mesmerized by his gaze, I felt as the pupil to some wizened, elder sage. Oh, but there was infinite kindness in that stare, too! I wanted to run up to him and give him a great big hug, but I didn't want to risk breaking the calm of the moment, so I rose to my feet slowly, without glancing away from the object of my attention. As soon as I contemplated walking towards my new friend, I became aware of the great distance between us. In steps it wasn't that far, but it felt as if there were invisible pockets of vastness hiding along the way, like some cunning faerie's forest trap. I concentrated on the animal, but the concept of him slipped farther and farther away in my mind. A sadness welled up within me, followed by a sense of deja vu as the unicorn relinquished its gaze and trotted away into the foliage on the opposite side of the creek. I felt very alone, but I just knew there was no hope in following the animal, in catching up to it; it was gone. It's been a couple years since I saw the unicorn, but I still think of him all the time. I've looked for him out in the forest, but I guess he doesn't want to see me again. Did I do something wrong? Does he not like me? Daddy says I'll be a woman soon, and I should forget such childish thoughts. He doesn't believe I really saw the unicorn. Nobody does. Except my grampa, and even he tells me I should forget about it. He says that the magic of the forest is dangerous and not meant for humans to play with. He's just like the rest of the adults. Why do I have to grow up and be like them? All they do is complain and argue and call each other liars all the time. I want things to stay simple, like they are out in the forest. I wish I could see the unicorn again. I want to talk with him. I just know he'd be able to understand me... I had one of those dreams again. Things haven't been the same since they started. Something is happening to me. Am I dying? Mommy's been asking me strange questions, and I'm afraid to tell her the truth. Often times I'll get a feeling, out of nowhere, of longing, and I'll start thinking about the forest again. He's out there. I know it. I can feel it. But why won't he show himself? I'm starting to wonder if I really did see him in the first place. The memory is so vivid, and I know in my heart that it was real, but...the more I think about him the more I wonder if I'm going crazy. I can't talk to anyone about it anymore because they'll just laugh at me. Even so, when I slip out into the forest to have some time to myself, do they know? Do they laugh at me while I'm gone, and then hide their smirks when I return? I can't take the uncertainty... I tried telling a boy once. About the unicorn. I thought he believed me. I took him out into the forest, but as soon as we were away from the village, he didn't seem to care about the unicorn at all. I described it to him. He paid attention to me, but he didn't hear a word I said. He started touching me, but it felt all wrong. He wouldn't stop, so I pushed him over and ran away. Who'd want a creep like that? Since then, I've been wanting to see the unicorn more and more. I want to experience that feeling of serene calm, of being in the presence of such majesty, again. What good are people after you've felt the magic of the forest? Sometimes I think about running away. If only he would show up again to take me away from this grubby place... It happened that night. Mommy was away, resting at the doctor's. Daddy went too far. He's very affectionate, but he likes to control things. I know he loves me, but...but that night when he touched me, I thought of that boy in the woods. It really grossed me out. But by pushing him away, I made daddy really mad. He got very aggressive. I tried to get away from him, but the more I struggled, the madder he got. He tore my clothes, but I managed to slip away. I ran out of the house and into the forest. I was so scared, I just kept running and running, tears streaming down my face, until I eventually passed out. I woke up and it was day. The air was very warm and I was sweating. What was left of my clothes were in tatters, so I discarded them. I was scared about running away from the house, but I didn't feel like going back to face daddy, or the rest of the wretched village, for that matter. Besides, I was lost. I didn't even know which way was back home. So I just wandered for awhile. I wasn't too worried because I figured they'd find me eventually, and I was happy to put that off as long as possible. I found a stream, but it didn't look familiar to me. The water was cool; a refreshing alternative to the warm, heavy air. So I rinsed the mud off my skin, and cooled my head. I felt feverish. I laid down on the bank for awhile to rest. I dozed off again. And when I awoke, I wasn't alone. The unicorn had returned to me, after all this time! In my hour of need, he showed up! I was elated, and momentarily forgot the problems of the previous night. But the unicorn regarded me sternly, as if searching through my mind, and I became anxious. What was I afraid he would find out? I saw daddy in my mind, and the boy in the forest, and then I felt my cheeks flushing. The unicorn snorted in disapproval. I pleaded to him to accept me. He looked into my eyes again, deeper, and I could feel him probing my mind. It was slightly uncomfortable, but I felt happy for him to see everything. For him to know me completely. Then he would know, how much I wanted him, that he was the only one I'd ever allow myself to open up to. I felt his mind receding from my mine, and then his searching gaze became calm and kind like the first time I had met him. My whole body relaxed, and my heart fluttered. He had accepted me! Not wanting to waste the opportunity like last time, I got to my feet and stepped towards the gentle brute. He received my touch warmly as I stroked his soft, flowing mane. He let out a neigh of pleasure. Suddenly I realized within me the desire to stay with the unicorn forever, to never again return to that pitiful world of the humans. I asked the unicorn with my heart, if such a thing were possible. For a painful moment, I waited for his reply. And then his alicorn shimmered pearlescent in response. I sensed some sort of magic at play, and felt a thought enter my consciousness, like a gift handed over in kindness. It told me that the alicorn was the key to fulfilling my desires. I gently brushed my hand along the length of the alicorn. It was hard and smooth. The shimmer began to pulsate in response to my touch. I was surprised at its warmth. In fact, I could feel myself getting warmer. The heat was not unpleasant, but it made me anxious. It was radiating from the very center of my being, which I felt was expressing its own desire, independent of my will. I began to feel in some ineffable way incomplete, like I was lacking a crucial part of my existence. The unicorn struck its gaze upon me, this time looking not into my eyes and into my mind, but into the very core of my being. Under that scrutiny, my skin began to tingle with sensation. I instantly understood the intention of the unicorn, and simultaneously felt that he was already a part of me, separated long long ago, and now desiring to become whole again. The alicorn was glowing now, and I felt my body expressing the desire to merge with it. The unicorn bowed its head, and inched the spiral wand towards my most sacred orifice. I grasped it lightly with my hands as it advanced ever closer to my being. I could feel my soul merging with the unicorn's, and the unicorn's primal essence washed through me as a growing wave of ecstacy. I felt a prick of pain as the alicorn tore through the gateway of my being and entered my body. My vision was clouding over, but I glanced downward to see a few drops of blood trickling along the magic spiral protruding from me. The pain increased as the alicorn dug deeper, but the sensation only heightened my ecstacy. My body embraced the welcome intruder tightly, but as the alicorn dug, its girth expanded, increasing the pain and the ecstacy at once. I felt the ground vanish beneath my feet, as the world around me trembled and repositioned itself. I could barely concentrate in my transcendent condition, but on the edge of my vision I saw the alicorn growing bigger, as the unicorn's shape devolved. At that instant, the pain exceeded the level of ecstacy as the alicorn began digging through my flesh. My pleasure turned to ecstatic fear. My breath shortened as I watched through clouded eyes as the unicorn's beautiful white coat darkened and swelled to ten times its original size. The beast's flanks bulged now and the skin appeared rough. As I once again caught the beast's gaze, I found myself staring into the fiery portals of Hell. It was bucking its head now, making obscene grunting noises, driving the tip of its spiral dagger, now matured into a huge, piercing horn, ever deeper into my body. I couldn't understand what was happening. But I felt as though I had stepped into some devil's horrible trap. With what breath I could muster, I arched my neck upward and screamed at the top of my lungs. My last sight was of the sky turning to sickly grey, and then fading to deathly black, as the tip of the enlarged alicorn emerged from my throat, having completed its resistant passage through my body. The beast let out a hellish cry of satisfied victory which curdled the blood that streamed like tears from my throat, down my naked and fully penetrated body, along the length of the evil horn, and into the beast's unblinking eyes. It then jerked its head to either side, the force tearing my body to pieces, which flew indiscriminately into the brush, the spray painting the green a splotchy red. At that point, my tortured soul, still attached out of shock to the death spike, was absorbed involuntarily into that evil alicorn, and trapped there for eternity by some magic bond, as the raging beast deformed once again, now shrinking back to its false size, pulling on that beautiful cloak of deception that so enchants the unknowing, rendering the creature fit to seek out its next victim. Likely another innocent and curious virgin like I was, with a touch of resentment for the world of mankind, and a desire to seek out the secret of the magic in the forest. A desire to cast aside all suspicions and run away with the first vision of happiness she happens to stumble upon. Like all the others. Each of whose spectacularly violent ravishings I must helplessly relive as I reluctantly watch from my inescapable spiral prison atop this foul, lying beast's evil crown... "The unicorn is a foul beast that cloaks itself in a veil of feigned purity in order to lure in innocent young virgins, which it harvests by impaling them on its shimmering alicorn." - ancient, unheeded warning (c) 2009 by zharth |