Short Story

WITHOUT A TRACE

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶
© Ayr/Gray

Behind the windows of this estate there once resided a reclusive couple. It’s said that everyone has a story; this couple was no exception. 

As young newlyweds they longed for a child but were unable to conceive. They sought the advice of seers and gypsies, to no avail.

Now middle-aged, the wife found she was pregnant. She was told the babe would not survive but survive it did and grew inside its mother, causing her great discomfort. Finally the time arrived for the birth. The wife labored for hours and as the baby’s head began to emerge, the midwife screamed and ran from the house.

The husband took the midwife’s place and immediately recoiled in fear. The wife pleaded for her husband to pull the baby from her body but he refused. Reaching down between her legs, the wife grabbed hold and pulled until the babe was free. Asking her husband to bring the lantern closer so she could see the infant, the new mother gasped and cried out in horror and despair. 

The poor babe was grotesque, his head enormous with eyes fused closed and his mouth a mere slit.

Without looking back, the husband left the house, heading to the tavern to drown his sorrows. He informed everyone that the baby had died. Filled with remorse, he returned home to find his wife and baby gone. He went searching but never found them. He died, a broken man. 

No trace was ever found of the mother or baby.

NAR © 2023
250 Words

The Unicorn Challenge-22/09/23

53 thoughts on “WITHOUT A TRACE”

  11. This prompt is sure bringing out the darkness – and in the very week when I determined to write something brighter!😄
    You do a great build-up with this reclusive couple and the gypsies and seers, and then the suspense as each character sees the baby.
    I suppose a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do – go and drown his sorrows, then feel ashamed.
    And the mother has to do what a mother has to do…
    And you leave us to decide for ourselves what that is.
    An excellent story, Nancy.

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    1. Thanks so much, Jenne, my girl!
      Each time I try to break away from the dark side, I’m pulled back in!
      It’s a natural affinity, the way of the Sicilian.
      Your most gracious comments are deeply appreciated.
      I’ll not soon forget them. ❤︎

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        1. Brings back horrible memories of those pitiful thalidomide babies; what a heartbreak that was and so many of us who were pregnant around that time, or even years later, were terrified to take any medication to help with nausea. Those grief-stricken mothers and their malformed babies … that was the real horror show.

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            1. This was worse than crack, Jim. Thalidomide is a prescription drug that was marketed as a sedative and treatment for morning sickness in pregnant women in the late 50s and early 60s. This drug subsequently caused babies to be born with a range of disabilities and/or deformities. Some women suffer from debilitating morning sickness and took the drug prescribed by their doctors believing it was safe. It was far from safe.

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  14. The baby ate the mother, than scampered off into the dark forest that surrounded the estate. You may not believe it, but it’s true. You can try to fact-check this assertion, but if I were you, I would just stay away.

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