They Linger in the Deep

When a young man sees his reflection in a pool as he has never seen it before, he is both mesmerized and suspicious.

Genre: Mythology

Excerpt: One day, he had an enticing thought. Then he chastised himself and told himself it was a silly and foolish thought. He shook his head as if shaking off the thought, but it was a sticky thought. It would not be forgotten.

And so, he leaned down closer to his reflection, closer and closer, until his lips touched the surface of the water, and the lips of his reflection.

What’s the Writing Prompt that inspired the story?The prompt was a screen capture I took of someone looking down a deep well. It was meant to be a reference image, but I ended up using it as a prompt as well. And the first thought that came to mind was reflections and mermaids. Like what if someone looked down into the waters of a lake and thought they were seeing their own reflection, but just under the surface, there really is another person... Inspired by the story of Echo and Narcissus.

Faster FictioneerEver wonder how I’ve gotten all these hundreds of stories written? I have a method. If you’ve got 40 minutes, I can teach you an abbreviated version of that method, right here: FASTER FICTIONEER(If you want to learn even more, there's info about my online course on that page too.)

I’ve Got Issues For YouThe Storyfeather Gazette is a monthly round-up of my recent podcast episodes, short stories, trailers, news, recommendations, and more that I send by email. Follow the link to look through old issues and to Sign Up: STORYFEATHER GAZETTE

Storyfeather-themed merchandiseT-shirts, mugs, stickers, notebooks, baby onesies, and more featuring artwork from stories and art challenges STORYFEATHER TEEPUBLIC STORE

CREDITSStory: “They Linger in the Deep” Copyright © 2020 by Nila L. Patel Narration, Episode Art, Editing, and Production: Nila L. Patel

Music: “Trip-Hop Lounge Abstract Background” by Digital Emotions (Intro/Outro)

Music by NICHOLAS JEUDY (Dark Fantasy Studio)* “Sirens” “Secret water” “Experiment 6” “Runes” “In the shadow” “Between two worlds”

Music by ROZKOL “Ambiet I-IV” “Fever Dream”

*These tracks were part of a music and sound effects bundles I purchased from Humble Bundle and sourced from GameDev Market.

Music by Nicholas Jeudy licensed from GameDev Market Music by ROZKOL is licensed under CC BY 3.0 Sound effects from AudioJungle and GameDevMarket Vocal effects made in Audacity Changes made to the musical tracks? Just cropping to align with my narration.

Find more music by Digital_Emotions at audiojungle.netFind more music by Nicholas Jeudy at gamedevmarket.netFind more music by ROZKOL at bandcamp.comFind more stories by Nila at storyfeather.com

Episode Art Description: Digital drawing. View from below the surface of a pool looking up at a young man in a short sleeve tunic seen from waist up at a diagonal. He is gazing down. His face is reflected on the stone surface visible along the left and bottom edges. Stray water weeds cling to the rocky walls of the pool.