BlogFlash Halloween: The Lady of the Cliffs

The Lady of the Cliffs by Karen Michelle Nutt

The rain from the night before had softened the earth and young Ethan lost his footing, sliding down the side of the cliff. The dirt and rocks came loose as he tried to scramble to safety, but it was of no use. The more he tried; the farther down he slid.

His screams for help were lost on the wind and soon he tired. All he could do is hug the cliff and balance on the small ledge. “Somebody, please help me,” he murmured. He was so tired.

“I’m here. Take hold of my hand.”

He strained his neck back and saw a lovely woman there, reaching for him. He grabbed for her hand, and to his surprise her grip was strong and she pulled him to safety.

“Run along home, Ethan,” she told him.

Ethan tilted his head to the side and stared at her. “I know you?”

She just smiled. “Go now. Your mum and da will be worried.”

***

Liam strode outside the house, looking for his son and spotted him in the distance.

The screen door opened and closed behind him. “Did you find Ethan,” Tara asked.

“Aye.”  Liam frowned and pointed to their son running toward them from the cliffs.

“Mum, Da, I almost died,” he cried as he reached them, his cheeks flushed from the wind.

Tara knelt down beside Ethan, looking him over for injury. Ethan’s hands were scraped and his jeans were torn, but other than that, he seemed unharmed.

“What happened?” Liam asked.

“I know I’m not supposed to go by the cliffs, but…” Ethan lowered his head.

“Go on,” Liam encouraged.

“I slipped.”

Tara’s hand flew to her chest. “Ethan this is exactly why we told you not to go near the cliffs.”

“But a lady was there to save me,” Ethan hurried to explain.

“A lady?” Liam asked. The nearest neighbor was over a mile away.

“I don’t remember her name, but you have a picture of her on the wall.”

Tara and Liam exchanged glances with a frown.

“I’ll show you,” Ethan said and hurried inside the house.

Both Liam and Tara followed their son. Ethan searched the framed photographs, lining the wall until he found the one he’d been looking for. “That’s her.” Ethan pointed.

“You’re sure this is the woman who saved you, son,” Liam asked.

Ethan’s head bobbed up and down.

Liam closed his eyes, swallowing the lump in the back of his throat.

“Are you still angry, Da, Mum?” Ethan asked. “I won’t go to the cliffs again. I promise.”

“We’ll discuss it later,” Tara told her son. “Go wash up for dinner.”

She waited until Ethan had run upstairs before she spoke. “He pointed to Brona’s photo.”

Liam’s fingers gently caressed the lovely face of his first wife, Tara’s sister.

“It couldn’t have been her,” Tara insisted, but her voice wavered. Liam drew Tara close.

They both knew sweet Brona had lost her life to those cliffs long before Ethan had been born.

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