Oh, my dears. It’s been a long week. And it is Friday night. The sky is dark, the moon is traveling past the stars, and much of the world is readying for bed. Curl up and listen to the tales I weave, until your eyes grow heavy and you slip into slumber, ready for the Dream Maker.
It was a day much like this one – mid-October and cool but not cold. It had been raining for days and there were puddles everywhere. Little Eleanor shrugged out of her stuffy raincoat and ran into the field behind her house. She jumped from puddle to puddle, laughing as the muddy water flew from her pink galoshes into the air.
Her mother – a pragmatist from experience, as so many mothers are – called after little Eleanor, warning her to be careful in the dirty puddles. And to her credit, Eleanor listened to her mother. She skipped through the field to the little pond just beyond the drooping wildflowers. The little pond that was swollen with dirty water and, oddly enough, hundreds of leeches.
Eleanor giggled as she stepped into the brackish water – just up to the tops of her galoshes – and squealed with delight as the leeches latched onto the boots. She tickled her fingers into the water and gasped as the leeches sucked insistently onto her tiny fingertips. She named each one as they oozed and inched up her arms, doing a little dance when they slipped beneath her collar. She ignored her mother’s calls – telling her not to play with the leeches.
Only under the threat of no dinner did Eleanor leave the dirty pond. But she did not heed her mother’s warning, for beneath her brown hair ribbon, Eleanor had hidden three leeches. She ate dinner demurely and succumbed to a face scrubbing with an unusual amount of agreeability. Tucking her little Eleanor to bed, her mother thought how lucky she was, to have such a daughter.
Eleanor giggled in her bed as the three leeches slid from their hiding place and down her tiny cheeks. They travelled down her arms and kissed each of her fingertips. Overnight, the leeches worked their magic and by the morning, little Eleanor had transformed into Leech Girl.
Such a daughter, indeed.
Sleep tight, my pets. Dream deep.
A friend of mine sent me the link to your shop because she knew it was right up my alley. Love it. I also love your blog. Just read Leach Girl. Your mind seems to work a lot like mine. Keep up the great work. Check out my blog if you like. I paint creepy kids and side show freaks and make jewelry out of them.
Cheers!