The ancient sailor sat by the shore staring at nothing with cataract eyes.
“Sea will come to swallow us soon”, he muttered
“It’s spring tide already, uncle?”
He chuckled lighting his briar pipe.
Inhaled, exhaled, inhaled again… ignoring me.
I reached to touch his shoulder and felt his flesh dissolving into brine.
In his place the albatross… again.
I walked to the sea; nostrils tickling from the scent of kelp.
Undressing I watched my limbs transforming to flippers; body-hair grew; I thickened with blubber… again.
That night you called my name, but the ancient sailor only muttered
“Swallowed by sea…”
I have been away from writing for Friday Fictioneers too many weeks, and despite being busy with daily poetry prompts I couldn’t resist this picture. The story came slowly as I wrote, and I do not really know all the mysteries behind it, I leave that to you dear reader.
Friday Fictioneers is a wonderful weekly prompt where we try to find a story in the same picture in hundred words or less. Rochelle guides us and make sure that we read and comment as much as we can.
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April 24, 2019
Björn Rudbergs writings 
That has the feel of what we call a selkie in Scoltand
I thought of a mix between the ancient Mariner and the selkie myth…
Love it, absolutely love it.
Mystical, magical, poetry
It is poetry month after all… 🙂
You’ve worked your magic with the photo, Bjorn. Glad you’re back at FF.
It was a slightly longer absence than I anticipated.
Wonderful mystical tale, and echoes of The Ancient Mariner, which I adore 🙂
Such a clever title. 🙂
What a blessing it would be to be able to experience more than one form of life. I think humans might benefit from such experiences. Lord knows it would provide some diversion. Excellent write,
Bjorn.
It’s like death, though. He was a part of them, and now he’s gone.
Dear Björn,
This is mystical and magical. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
I like the pun in the title! A very mysterious and fantastical piece.
A magical piece on a mythical creature. It does remind me of the ‘selkie’.
This piece of writing is genuinely a nice one it assists new the web
users, who are wishing in favor of blogging.
Welcome back! And what a magical and wonderful tale, as well.
I love it. It is quite poetic.
You catch perfectly the mood of the folk tale, and the magical business of transformations. Love it.
Ah, the much-storied selkie. It is said that if this seal loses its hide, it becomes a human woman and cannot return to the sea until its hide is found. Some very sad stories have been woven around these creatures.
He became a sea creature, a fish may be. A good life, because three fourth of earth is water. Likely to be more with global warming.
This has happened before, I’m thinking, based on your repetition of ‘again’. I quite envy them – experiencing human life and some other form of life. Sad for those left behind, though. A wistful, enchanting story.
Oh this is wonderful, dreamlike, mystical. It’s like a vision of what has happened and will happen again, a semi-conscious transformation. And with the writing you drew us right into this vision and had us share it. Perfect.
A good story, Bjorn. There’s the sound of an ancient myth of the sea about it. I enjoyed the rhyming quality. 🙂 — Suzanne
A great piece to just sit and savour Bjorn. We don’t need specific explanation to enjoy
Your story has a folk tale and dreamy feel and opens the door for the reader to interpret. Nicely done and welcome back. I’ve missed your stories.
Loved the title. A very magical poetic story.
Feels like the modern telling of an ancient myth, where the sea reclaims her own every spring. Lovely voice and beautifully written Bjorn
Mysterious indeed, and very thought provoking.
Almost mythical.
A lovely read. Thank you.
Björn, I’ve missed your stories, though I’m late this week, sorry! This is so ethereal and atmospheric. It’s magic, like your tale!
Oooo I love this Bjorn. Mystery and magic. A siren or a selfie? I really wanted more. Great take on the prompt