Back In The Saddle Again by Doug Hawley

Back In The Saddle Again by Doug Hawley

The man knocked on the door of the cabin in a saddle, the slight depression in the trail between the lower part of Hawley Hill and the upper part. An attractive redheaded woman answered the door “How can I help you?”

“Well, dear lady, I had planned to walk the trail over Hawley Hill to visit my ailing mother in Chambers, but I took a wrong turn and lost an hour. Now it’s getting close to dark and I’ve heard scary things about traversing Hawley Hill at dark. Stories of inhuman monsters that attack people caught on the flat top of the hill at night. Is there any chance I could stay at your place until tomorrow morning? I’d be glad to pay.”

“Sir, you need not pay. I’m not the kind to take advantage of strangers in need. My name is Zelda. Who might you be?”

“My name is Melvin. I hope it is not bragging, but I own the largest insurance agency in Chester. You look familiar. Have I seen you before?”

“It could be. I shop in Chester. As to your accommodations, I have a spare bedroom that you may use.”

“If you are worried about a strange man in your house overnight, perhaps the room is lockable?”

“It is lockable, but I think that I am a fine judge of character, and I don’t think that I need worry that a man as handsome as you needs to force himself on women.”

“Zelda, with that settled, I’ll go to bed early. The miles I traveled earlier while lost have left me exhausted. Goodnight.”

“Melvin, I hope that you will have a good night too.”

Around midnight Melvin was awakened by a monster by his bed. The monster was well over six feet tall with the red furry legs of a goat. The upper body was rather that of spectacularly built female human. The face was human, but there were goat horns at the back of the head.

Melvin cowered against the wall next to his bed and screamed “What did you do to Zelda?”

“I am Zelda; I just look a little different at night”.

The next day Melvin visited his mother Sue who was feeling much better. He explained his bruises, limp and scratches were from a fall he had during his walk to Sue’s home. Melvin was careful to walk home in the daylight and didn’t get lost again.

In the years that followed Melvin married his fiancé Sandy and was elected mayor of Chester. Because Chester was a small town, its mayor was a part-time job, and Melvin’s insurance agency prospered with him as its leader. Sandy had two children Richard and Jane.

Melvin closed down his agency on Wednesdays. He told people he needed a day to catch up on paperwork. He didn’t tell people that he also visited his secret family consisting of Zelda and their children Morgana and Mordrid.

Before Melvin left the cabin after the first night with Zelda, she explained “I am one of the monsters from the top of Hawley Hill. Over time I came to hate my people, they are a cruel and ugly lot with an irrational hatred of humans. I thought that I could lead a double life in this cabin as a human during daylight and as a secret monster at night. You aroused feelings in me that made me act as a monster. I can only hope that I have not injured you badly and that you can forgive me.”

After a long pause, Melvin replied “The pleasure exceeded the pain. I’d like to come back if only you could restrain yourself a little.”

* * * * THE END * * * *
Copyright Doug Hawley 2023