Michael Asher
Stories (2)
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Fire Maiden
Part 2 Rafig paused to add more wood to the fire, and for a moment I gazed up at the stars. Lady Moon was still bright, and around her sparked the familiar constellations – Coney Night Caller, Shadad the Hunter, the Wide-Eared Fox. The glow of the fire created a magical island of light in the darkness, and, just beyond its perimeter, the camels grunted and chewed.
By Michael Asher4 years ago in Fiction
Fire Maiden
Fire Maiden - A Tale in Seven Parts by Michael Asher Part 1 Just before sunset we halted our camels at a patch of grass and trees in the emptiness. We had come a long way that day, and the evening was cold. We fed the animals, collected deadfall from under the trees, and made a fire. We cooked polenta and by the time we had eaten it was dark. We built up the fire and sat close to it wrapped in blankets, as the wood crackled and the flames blazed. For a while we watched it burn in silence. Above us Lady Moon was bright and the stars were a cascade of pearls, but for us the fire was the central pole of the night’s tent, and as I stared into it, it seemed to grow larger and larger until the glow and the heat enveloped me. For a fleeting moment I glimpsed a face within the swirling flames - the face of a woman with smouldering eyes and raven dark hair. She gazed directly at me and smiled in a sultry way that shook me – she was so enticingly beautiful that I gasped.
By Michael Asher4 years ago in Fiction
