Naiad Repellent – Sunday Photo Fiction

Written for Sunday Photo Fiction. A story, about a dangerous encounter with River Naiads and an unexpected way to overcome them, begins after the photo.

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Humor

Photo by: Alastair Forbes

Naiad Repellent

By 8:00AM, Nick and Howie had pulled in a goodly number of Striped Bass and Perch from Yancy’s Creek. It was another successful trip to their newest, and now favorite. fishing spot.

As Nick tossed another bass into the bucket, he noticed the water roiling as though it boiled. Howie had seen it too and was staring at the water slack-jawed. Their eyes widened as six beautiful women rose out of the water. They were all lovely, with seaweed barely covering their ample curves. They advanced slowly towards the fishermen with mischievous grins on their faces.

“I dun died and gone to Heaven!” moaned Howie.

“No you ain’t! scolded Nick. “Those are River Naiads. They’ll pull you into the creek and keep you there forever.”

“Don’t sound so bad.”

“‘Cepting you’ll be dead the whole time.”

“Oh!” A ripple of fear ran through Howie’s pudgy body. “We’d better run fer it!”

Nick nodded at Howie’s substantial beer belly. “You’d never make it. Me neither.” He patted his own belly. No six-pack there. It was more of a Pony Keg. “We gotta think of something that will drive them off. Think. What do you women hate about men?”

“Everything?”

“Specifics, boy. We need something we can use, like cussin’ or fartin’ or bad breath.”

They tried all three methods to no avail. The Naiads were very close and their sweet voices called to them. Nick knew they only had moments before the men fell entranced by their sweet voices. Nick dug into his pack and pulled out his iPad. “I think I saved a copy on this.”

Soon, the voice of Joe Buck played on the pad, “It’s 3rd and 11 and Manning desperately needs a 1st down.” Troy Aikman, Buck’s co-commentator chimed in, “Yes, and now the most prolific passer in NFL Football needs good protection from his linemen.”

Soon the lovely female voices of the Naiads had no effect as the two men became hypnotized by the football game. They were rooted to the spot, unable to move until the game’s replay finished at last. They looked up. The Naiads were gone. Powerless to overcome the hypnotic effect of football, the river nymphs sullenly disappeared back into the creek.

“It worked!” cheered Howie. “How’d you know it would?”

Nick shrugged. “I figured if football is a great wife repellent, it might be a Naiad Repellent too!”
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Each week, Alastair Forbes presents an original photo as a writing prompt for flash fiction. Anyone can join in on the fun and that’s why you should too! This week’s prompt can be found here: http://sundayphotofictioner.wordpress.com/2014/03/09/sunday-photo-fiction-march-9th-2014/