A young Australian girl reclines, her legs dangling from the dock, tacklebox, fishing poles, lines; blind to the saltwater croc. Her Sunday dress is pure white like flowers before the Fall, her hair modest and braids tight; no ribbons or bows at all. The girl hums a hymnal song, lines drifting—not a quiver to hint that something is wrong within the silent river. She hums a song about love and the paradise that waits after death, in realms “above” such as the old Bible states. She remembers her preacher and a sermon last season that was premised to teach her “Things happen for a reason.” He said, “Egypt’s children died as proof of God’s great power. Pharaoh Ramses could not hide his child from that fateful hour.” When she asked him how she might avoid incurring God’s wrath, he said, “Keep yourself pure white, and stay on the righteous path.” The croc springs up from beneath like a devil from below; she struggles, but the sharp teeth clutch tight and do not let go. She screams out to her father, her mother, Jesus, her god, but the sound drowns in water, crying, helpless as she pawed at the beast’s face, its wide snout, slowing as she drowned slowly, as she bled and faded out, the death-roll now more holy than any psalm or prayer she could say in her defense within Nature’s cruel lair— no rhyme or reason or sense.
Stephen Marshall. Writer, illustrator, layabout. Find him on Amazon, maybe. He has paperback and kindle books listed there. He also writes Supernatural Romance under the name S.C. Foster (because his fiancee pushed him to do so). He seems to have a knack for the Romance genre, much to his chagrin. Having pursued Children's literature he is particularly proud of his Children's novel series "Lost And Found", which begins with "Chloe Among The Clover", continues recently with "Stormy Within The Strawberry Patch" and may, in some future potentiality, culminate with "Candice Through The Picket Fence". These are novels for children (including his insistent nephew), but they are also written for adults who are children at heart. His short story collection, "The Eldritch Diaries", centers primarily upon Cosmic Horror and Body Horror, combining Lovecraft's mythos with the motifs of Sigmund Freud. His largest poetry collection, "Broken Crown Kings", contains over two hundred poems and two short novellas concerning the fleeting nature of the world and Man's place within it. Recently he has published a smaller book of poetry concerning Kentucky, Moonshine, and Ghosts called "Moonshine And Spirit Chasers". A much larger collection, entitled '"Nevermore" 99 Rhymes For $0.99' is also available. For those seeking supernatural and folklore, his collection "Weeping Cherry" is available also.
https://www.amazon.com/Stephen-Marshall/e/B07536QKD9?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_fkmrnull_1&qid=1554215427&sr=8-1-fkmrnull
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