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Five Card Story: Beyond Smoke
a Five Card Flickr story by Lalliah Leiamor created Apr 26 2025, 03:49:23 am. Create a new one!
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Maria Juana, always curious and seeking adventure, decided to explore the so-called “enchanted woods” that had been the subject of local legends. Although feeling sleepy, she entered the dark tunnel filled with smoke, the towering trees above her casting eerie shadows. Her flashlight flickered and then died, leaving her in complete darkness. Panic set in for a moment, but then the sky above seemed to tear open, and a brilliant sunset flooded the forest with an almost unnatural glow. The trees around her seemed alive, whispering secrets she couldn’t understand. She felt as though something was watching her, but she pushed the feeling aside and kept moving forward.
As she ventured deeper into the forest, she stumbled upon a family sitting by a glowing fire. They looked… strange, almost too perfect, their eyes glimmering in a way that made Maria Juana uneasy. "Do not go past the creek," the mother warned, her voice like wind through the leaves. "The forest hides secrets that even time cannot hold."
Maria Juana, intrigued by the cryptic message, couldn’t resist the pull of the unknown. She brushed off their warning and kept going, eager to see what else the woods had to offer. The deeper she went, the weirder things got. She found an old, rusted car, its engine seemingly frozen in time. As she touched it, the headlights flickered on, and a deep, unsettling laugh echoed from within, sending a chill down her spine.
Determined to continue, Maria Juana pushed on, her senses heightened by the strange atmosphere. Soon, she saw it—a huge, glowing horse, its mane flowing like it was made of starlight. Its hooves pounded the earth like thunder as it galloped toward her, its eyes glowing with an eerie wisdom. Frozen in place, Maria Juana had no idea whether to run or stay and see what would happen next.
The horse skidded to a stop in front of her, its breath heavy in the air. In a voice that seemed to shake the very ground beneath her, it spoke: "You wander where mortals should not tread. You’ve heard the call of the forest, but beware—the secrets it guards are not for you."
Maria Juana's heart raced, her mind scrambling for answers. "But... what secrets?"
The horse snorted, flicking its tail. "The forest is cursed. Spirits roam here, but they don’t consume flesh—they feast on the souls of those who ignore its warnings."
Before Maria Juana could respond, the horse turned and vanished into the mist, leaving her standing there, her thoughts racing. The forest felt like it was alive, ancient and full of magic, and she wondered just how much more she had yet to uncover.
But as she made her way back, the surreal events weighing on her mind, something clicked. Her heart was still pounding, but now it was more from realization than fear. With a sheepish grin, Maria Juana shook her head. The horse, the family, the eerie laughter from the car—all of it was just a hallucination. The forest wasn’t enchanted—it was all an illusion created by the effects of the Marijuana she’d smoked earlier. The mysterious warnings and the glowing horse had been nothing more than a product of her mind’s wild trip.
With a deep sigh, Maria Juana chuckled to herself. The forest wasn’t haunted by spirits or cursed with ancient magic. It was just a normal forest—well, at least she hoped so.
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- Beyond Smoke by Lalliah Leiamor
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flickr photo credits: (1) bionicteaching (2) bionicteaching (3) bionicteaching (4) bionicteaching (5)