Gone with the Fog

Prompt Link – https://writingprompts.tumblr.com/post/171916161290/the-photography-of-jamila-clarke-is-definitely

To her, fog was never unusual under any circumstances. When one lives in a town next to the wide, open waters of the ocean, it is an everyday occurrence in their daily lives. A fact Zera knew all too well. People might’ve called her a child, but that didn’t mean she was oblivious to the truth right in front of her. The villagers of the town she lived in had told her that the fog shouldn’t be feared, and it was like an old friend that was always there. But she knew better. She knew the dangers that rolled in when the ghostly clouds grazed the earth and she knew that those dangers were not to be taken lightly. One could easily get lost in the veil of fog and never come back. But no one seemed to understand that.

Or perhaps, Zera pondered, that the townspeople wanted her to enjoy her childhood, to be blissfully unaware of the dangers that lied in the fog until they decided she was old enough. Even so, what she just couldn’t comprehend was why they told her not to fear the fog, but to fear the Lantern Girl.

Seeing the Lantern Girl was another occurrence in Zera’s daily life. Everyday, she would see her making her way around the entire village with a small lantern in hand. But the mysterious girl never spoke and would be seen exploring the village from day to night. Yet she, unlike the fog, never touched the earth and seemed to hover in the air, appearing almost ghost-like. What Zera found interesting was the fact that wherever the Lantern Girl would go, the fog would avoid the floating girl like the plague. It was like the fog feared the light that emanated from the little lantern in the girl’s hand. Since Zera never liked the fog, whenever she went outside in the fog, she was seen following the Lantern Girl like how a duckling would follow its mother. But the townsfolk scolded her every time for it, claiming the Lantern girl was a menace not to be trusted.

As days passed, the townspeople started to become more and more restless around the mysterious floating girl, with rumours about her escalating. Until one day, a sailor had attempted to drive the Lantern Girl out of the village by lassoing her and pulling on the rope.

Thankfully, to Zera’s relief, the sailor’s attempt failed and the rope that had hooked on to the Lantern Girl had snapped in half. But the next day, the fog, along with the floating girl was nowhere where to be found. While others wondered where the fog went, Zera wonders where the mysterious floating girl could be. But for now, Zera knows the Lantern Girl is gone, disappeared with the fog.