Cobweb...short story I have written

I will just copy this in installments...and see how much I can do with each sitting here....
I had this story copyrighted. It is not cheap to copyright anything!....anyway.....

COBWEB

Elspeth, the little cobweb faerie of the house was weeping. Tears ran down her pale cheeks creating watery kaleidoscope designs as they fell to the floor.

"What's wrong?" asked Emily. Emily was Elspeth's eight-legged black pet spider.

All cobweb faeries need a pet spider to weave silk for them while they hang their cobwebs, thoughtfully, everywhere and anywhere...but most cobweb faeries are mischievious by nature and want to be pesky. Elspeth was quite different.

Elspeth was extremely sensitive and exquisitely, delicately beautiful. She was only the size of a sparrow, as most faeries are, and by humankind standards, she was such a tiny, little thing....even though, hardly any humans ever see the elusive faerie. They have a way of disappearing just before any human folk show up.

Elspeth was pale with white porcelain skin, large soulful, dewey gray eyes, which almost looked blue today. She had long silky, spidery-web colored hair which framed her perfect little face and ran down her back in strands of wild little curls. Her lips were pink and in a perfect little pouty shaped rosebud. Her diaphonous wings were medium in size and glossy silver in color, and she had long, thin limbs and fingers. Of course, cobweb faeries need long arms to hang those cobwebs in hard to reach corners, but Elspeth's were unusally long.

Elspeth always wore her favorite white gossamer gown fashioned from the silky threads woven by Emily in Elspeth's cobweb design. It was getting old and tattered, but it was Elspeth's favorite and like her own natural second skin now.

"Well, " asked Emily once again, "what is it? What is the matter today?" Emily was very matter of fact about almost everything, as most spiders are, and had no time or patience or tears. There was always work to be done.

"I put all of my heart into creating all of those beautiful cobwebs, " sniffled Elspeth. "I think that they are beautiful masterpieces, but no one else does!"

"Are you telling me that you are weeping about this morning when Mrs. Snigelfarmer came along and took all of our cobwebs away with one of those big, ugly, noisy machines? I had to run away and hide, as usual, " said Emily. "At any rate, she missed a couple of my webs, so hopefully, we'll catch something delicious for supper tonight."

Mrs. Snigelfarmer was the lady of the house. She was a big, stout, friendly looking woman with rosy cheeks and twinkling blue eyes who climbed the stairs to the attic at least three times a year with her trusty vacuum cleaner.

"You know, we spent weeks on some of those cobweb hanging wall sculptures," lamented Elspeth. "They were beautiful!" You went through so many spools of thread, Em, and I spent so many hours on each of them, and that lady always comes along and destroys them! I am so tired and feel so insignificant. I wish I was rainbow faerie or even dew drop faerie," cried Elspeth. "They bring joy and happiness. I only know how to make cobwebs that make people frown and scowl. I know that everyone thinks that my sculptures are ugly!"

"My, my, dear Elspeth, aren't we feeling sorry for ourselves today? Hey, look at me. Most people think that I am ugly and even scream when they see me and my kind and go out of their way to kill someone like me. Am I weeping my eyes out? I think that I am beautiful, though. You were not born to be Michaelangelo. Your job is to be mischievious and to create cobwebs to annoy folks like all of the other cobweb faeries. They are full of tricks and giggles. You are so sensitive and too serious. I never heard of a cobweb faerie like you before. Get over yorself! You are not much fun to be around anymore, not that you ever were much fun," chuckled Emily.....

 

"I DON'T WANT TO ANNOY PEOPLE! I WANT PEOPLE TO STARE AT MY WORK IN AWE LIKE THEY DO FOR THE RAINBOW FAERIES' WORK!" ...declared Elspeth...."and who is Michaelangelo?"

"Michaelangelo was one of the greatest painter-sculptures of human-kind that ever lived. He lived many hundreds of years ago. I know, because according to my family tree, my great, great, great, great, great and many greats grandfather, and his great, great, great grandfather before that got plucked off of one of Michealangelo's statues, before we migrated here on human ships. Poor ole ancestor, Lester, was then squished into the earth under the heel of a big, black boot. Needless to say, no one in my family ever went near any human work of art again!" announced Emily.

"Oh. I am so sorry, " said Elspeth, still a little weepy. "Why don't people love my sculptures like they do Mr. Michealangelo's?"

"I love your sculptures, " Emily said. "Don't I count as somebody? I hope to catch a fly for tonight's supper. Maybe you should speak to Ms. Grimple about your feelings. I don't know what to say to you anymore."

Ms. Grimple was the dust faerie of the house. She was old and grey and full of mischief.

"They sweep her sculptures away much quicker than they do yours. She doesn't seem to mind one bit. In fact, it seems to me, it makes her work harder the next time, and even harder the next time after that."...laughed Emily. "She works with such an unstoppable vengeance, Elspeth, and does not take long naps like you. In fact, she never seems to take any time off at all. She is always cheerful and happy to do her job."

"I know, and I like her. I talk to her sometimes, even though she is always so busy. She always puts some of her magic dust powder in my cobwebs on her way through, and I do appreciate that, but she is content to annoy folks. I am not."

"I don't know what to tell you, my sweet child. Oh, boy! We just caught a fly and a moth for supper. You can have your choice."

"Okay, I will have the moth, as usual,"...stated Elspeth.

"Terrific, because you know that flies are my favorite, "....grinned Emily.

Flies were Emily's favorite meal. They were chewey and meaty, unlike the powdery, flaky taste of moths.

While they ate their supper in friendly silence, twilight shadow faeries began to dance all around them in quiet, comforting, soothing waltzes. The attic was large and the moon was beginning to peek in one of the many windows, winking and smiling in its infinite wisdom to all.

Elspeth always felt comforted by this time of day and said with a renewed resolve,..."With your kind help, Emily, I would love to begin building the biggest, most sensational cobweb sculpture ever created! People will have to stare in awe and never dare take it way with their noisy machines! It will make them happy to look at it, and looking at it will chase away any sadness that they feel for one happy moment."

"WOWEE! That is some hefty goal that you have there. It sounds impossible to me, but I can think of worse things to try and do, so Madmoiselle Elspeth, I am always and forever at your service and will do whatever I can to help. What will we be sculpting by the way?"

"I am not sure about that part yet. I guess we will just start something and let it happen with only our goal in our hearts."

"Okay,"...agreed Emily.

As they both started to doze off to sleep, Elspeth dreamily said...."Emily, there is nothing ugly about you. People just don't know you the way I do..."

"I know...I know...."....and as the both entered the land of dreams; a land not restricted by any boundaries and where everything is possible, Emily dreamt of up and coming fly meals, and Elspeth dreamt of sculpting her magnificent cobweb and signing her name in the pages of immortaility.

Meanwhile, in another part of the house, Mrs. Snigelfarmer was having a late night conversation with her husband. Mr. Snigelfarmer was tall and lean with glasses and usually had little to say.

"You know, Fred, I was thinking....maybe we should sell this big house and move into something smaller and a little more manageable, now that the kids are gone. I'm finding this big Victorian house a little too big, and not to mention, the dust that this place accumulates, and you should have seen the size of the cobwebs that I vacuumed out of the attic today! They were enough to scare anyone! Where do these cobwebs come from? I can't seem to keep up with it anymore...."

Fred peered over his newspaper and mumbled something, although I am not too sure what it was. He had heard this many times before and knew that they would never move away from their home, and deep in her heart, Mildred Snigelfarmer knew this, too.

 

The sweet smell of morning brought a renewed optimism to all of the Snigelfarmer residents. Even the household orange tabby cat, Pete, was giving himself a morning bath with unusual gusto.

Fred and Mildred Snigelfarmer were eating their breakfast of fried eggs, hash browns and corn bread. Fred was reading his morning newspaper, and Mildred was thinking about the chores that needed doing.

Ms. Grimple was scurrying through the house filling up vacancies with her magic dust, and Elspeth and Emily were at a corner in the attic ceiling beginning their masterpiece cobweb.

"We have a least four months until early December to create something beautiful before Mrs. Snigelfarmer comes back with her awful machine,"....said Elspeth. "She always cleans the attic then just before Christmas."

"That's about right, " said Emily. "How big are we going to make this thing, anyway?" Emily asked wondering what she had gotten herself into.

"As big as we can....as big as we can...." said Elspeth repeating herself.

"Ok, boss, ok, "...replied Emily wondering why in the world she agreed to such an idea in the first place.

They worked all day. Emily spun her beautiful, silky thread, and Elspeth sculpted and hung cobwebs with her delicate fingers.

They worked for many days and many weeks stopping only to eat and sleep once in awhile....spinning and hanging....spinning and sculpting.....the muse faeries whispering softly around them; guiding them and inspiring them in their transcendent endeavors. Neither Emily nor Elspeth stopped to really look at what they were creating. They just kept spinning and hanging....spinning and hanging in their friendship that was comfortable in a silent understanding....until one day in mid November, Emily announced.....

"I have to stop now, Elspeth....I can't go on. I am pregnant and am going to lay my eggs now in that box over there where I frequently hide."

"Why didn't you tell me? When did that happen? I am so happy for you! How many Emilies will you have? Of course, let's stop now!" exclaimed a very excited Elspeth.

"I hope there will be a few Oscars, too, but I am sure that there will be quite a few babies," said Emily.

"Oscar!? You mean Oscar, the downstairs spider? He was here? He's the father? Where was I?".... asked Elspeth.

"You were sleeping very soundly one night when Oscar came to visit. He brought me up to date on all of the latest news of the kitchen, and even brought me some blueberry pie crumbs."

Emily had been very happy that Oscar noticed her and thought enough of her to visit.

"It was so nice of him to bring something edible," said Emily smiling proudly.

"Yes, that was very thoughtful. I am so happy. You are going to be a mommy...you are going to be a mommy..."Elspeth sang.

"Well, Elspeth, I am going into that box now. It is comfortable in there and full of human cloth items. I am planning to stay there until the eggs hatch, and I make certan that everyone is healthy and all right. Give me a few days, and then visit us."

"Emily, I am not going anywhere! I am going to sit outside of your box and wait and be there, in case you need me," said Elspeth with resolve.

Emily crawled into the old cardboard box in the corner of the attic floor, and Elspeth sat next to it and waited. She waited and waited, until she fell asleep, and because she was so exhausted creating a cobweb like never before for so many weeks and days, Elspeth slept for four days.

She awoke to the sound of a deep, sweet voice. It was the voice of one of the twilight shadow faeires who was there every single night dancing on the walls.

"Shouldn't you check and see if your friend is all right?" asked Faylinn, the shadow faerie.

"Oh, no! How long have I been sleeping?" asked Elspeth.

"You have been in that same spot for the last four nights now. I don't like to talk much, but I feel worried for your friend. I have not seen her lately," Faylinn said, as she climbed back on her wall.

"Ok, thank you. I love watching you dance. Thank you so much for waking me up," said Elspeth, as she peered inside of the box to find Emily.

"Emily, where are you? Are you all right? Where are you? Answer me!"

Elspeth did not hear the familiar sound of her friend answering back, so she decided to go into the box to look for her.

There she saw hundreds of baby spiderlings, and in the crease of some blue velvet material, she found Emily silent and pretty still.

 

"Emily, ANSWER ME!" screamed Elspeth.

In a very feeble voice, Emily replied, "I am dieing, Elspeth. I leave you with all of my sons and daugters. Pick one to be your new pet and let the others go and be who they will be and be where they want to be....I have told them all that I love them."

"NO!" cried Elspeth. "It's all my fault! If I hadn't worked you so hard...if I hadn't been so vain about making a stupid cobweb.....no, no, no, Emily, please don't die!"

"Don't be silly, my sweet Elspeth. That had nothing to do with that. It is my time. I am old and have lived a long, full life. Spiders don't live forever, you know, and I have lived longer than most. Helping you build that cobweb was the happiest, most wonderful thing I ever did. I have seen it since I have been in this box, and it is MAGNIFICENT! It is the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen, and what a tribute to me. Thank you, Elspeth! You are incredible. Thank you so much for the gift of you...I love you....."....and Emily died.

A despondant Elspeth crawled back out of the box and sat on the floor again near it and cried all night long. She didn't care about cobwebs anymore. Her cobweb sculpture didn't seem to matter anymore. Her friendship with Emily was the most important thing in Elspeth's world, and without that, nothing else mattered. To think that she was sobbing over her cobwebs almost four months earlier, made her feel ashamed of herself. She was a cobweb faerie, and without Emily, she decided that she would never hang another cobweb.

In the morning hours, Elspeth watched hundreds of spiderlings march out of the box, right passed her and out of sight to go and meet their lives.

One tiny spiderling sat near Elspeth.

"Tell me about my mother and tell me what you have decided to name me," said one little smidgen of a spider with a bigger voice than her mother's...."if you can get over yourself long enough to speak, that is!"

"What?" asked a teary Elspeth.

"Tell me about my mother and what you are going to name me. I have decided to be your pet like my mom was to you. Right after we were born, mom told us all about you, Elspeth. She told us many stories about things she knew. She wanted us to meet the world with all of the knowledge that she had to give. She loved you so much, and I guess I will, too."

"What do you want your name to be?" asked Elspeth still heart broken.

"I think I would like to be called Isabella! That sounds like a beautiful name, and I am definitely beautiful! Now, tell me about mom, and when are we going to finish that cobweb? I will help you sign it. I can spin silky thread already."

Tears welled in Elspeth's eyes. She already loved little Isabella, but she missed Emily. She spoke of Emily as she lifted Isabella to the ceiling, and together they signed the cobweb. She spoke to little Isabella for hours about Emily, until they were interrupted by the first snow diamond faerie of the season, who entered through a crack in the window.

"I couldn't help noticing your mural from outside, " said Joy, the snow diamond faerie..."and was wondering if you want me to dust it with some of my diamonds. I always have extra."

"Yes! Thank you so much!"...clapped Isabella, merrily...and the snow diamond faerie randomly dusted the cobweb mural with diamonds and went back out through the same crack in the window she entered through.



The next afternoon, Mrs. Snigelfarmer climbed the attic stairs with her trusty vacuum cleaner.

"OH, MY GOODNESS!!!!!" she exclaimed in awe and wonderment. "FRED, COME QUICKLY!!!!" Mrs. Snigelfarmer screamed.

Fred never heard his wife scream like that before and dropped his newspaper and hurried up to the attic....and they both stood with mouths open wide and looked at the most beautiful cobweb mural that they had ever seen of a faerie and a spider dancing happily together in what looked like swirls of eternity with stars twinkling all around. In one corner, the mural said, "With love from Emily and Elspeth and Isabella...." and in the other corner of the mural it said..."Always be happy, my dears....love, Emily..."

Mrs. Snigelfarmer never approached the mural with her vacuum cleaner...and there it stayed forever.......and ever.......

 

I wonder where my story went here. I wanted to copy and paste it for myself.......

 

I wonder where my story went here. I wanted to copy and paste it for myself.......

 

Oh my god I just realized a story I posted here a few years ago has prob disappeared too. I've been meaning to get it off here for a while because I've lost all my other copies except the very first draft and the one posted here. Damn that sucks

 

I hope this comes back. i wanted to copy and paste it yesterday, so I would always have it. I cannot type it all again on the computer....

 

Did anybody read this thing.....? LOL

It is back...yay!

 

Huh... there's a little tear to my eye, I think. I must have a cold or something. It's cute

 

better take something for that little cold of yours....

 

("...I read it..." went the goblin, adding "...and it's good too...", only that the goblin was not here often enough but promised to read it whenever there was more to read then, smiling "...I'm subscribed to the notifications now you have my readership if you would spoil me by writing on..." and with that the sat back in his chair and waited)