Nighttime, when strange things happen

The full moon shining brightly

Gleaming on the surface of the river

Tempted was I in this beautiful scenery

So, I threw down my anchor from my heavy boat

And laid down on the hard surface

To gaze at the stars

Not a sound was heard

Gone were the crackling frogs and screeching cricket

Then my boats began to sway from side to side

Swinging violently across the river

Pulling to the bottom of the river

On my feet, I sprang

As I tugged harder on the chain

But it wouldn’t budge

Nervously, a gulped a bottle of rum

It didn’t help

Neither did the enormous  drag of pipe calm me

Instead, a thick white mist crept

To the surface my hands, legs, and feet

I could hardly see

Hidden behind the fogs

Were mysterious creatures

Swimming, laughing mockingly at me

My breath came out in hard pants

And so to my legs I stooped

My eyes wide opened

My ears straightened

Listening for the slightest sound

A nasty feeling of weakness

Overcame me  into sickness

This made me tremble in fright

Slowly, I sat in fear

Grabbing my boat with two hands

I feel my knuckles turn pale

With veins sticking out

So, I held my eyes closed

And Then, I sensed  a dark shape

Looming over me

Not one but two

Two fishermen it was

They helped me

Together we pulled, yanked, and tugged

Little by little the anchor moved

Slowly and deliberately we pulled

Into the boat, we dropped the anchor

With the  body of an old woman

Whose neck was laced with a rope

That held a huge stone.

 

Story adapted from Guy de Maupassant’s tale