Wednesday, July 30, 2008

The Welsh Ghost Slug


White, it is. Shimmering. Teeth like knives. Slicing, macerating, engulfing me, piece by piece, the unswallowed part still wriggling. Ah, such a sad end for a worm who spent all her genderless life as a he. Subsumed by slime. Gobbled on the quiet. One soft body enveloped by another. Black into white. The same old story.

Know this. Be ready for them when they come. Like any other army it slithers forward on its hungy stomach. Silent, clever, Welsh - the first of its kind. Ysbryda. A paucity of vowels and a generosity of spit. A bigger mouthful than I was.


It's been a long time since I last tried one of these (a story in exactly 101 words). Thanks to Debra Hamel who alerted me to this story about the newly-discovered flesh-eating slug which provided the inspiration.
Link

11 Comments:

Blogger Kirsty said...

Eww. The slug, not your story, although that makes feel a bit creeped out too : )

Wed Jul 30, 01:07:00 pm  
Blogger dhamel said...

"A paucity of vowels and a generosity of spit." What a gorgeous line.

Wed Jul 30, 07:07:00 pm  
Blogger Clare Dudman said...

Kirsty: Heh, could be a good horror story good horror story. The Monster Welsh Ghost Slug...

Debra: thank you! I was quite pleased with that I have to admit - like spirit but with less letters...and of course meaning something entirely different. Heh heh.

Wed Jul 30, 08:24:00 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oops! I overlooked your potential interest in this. First found in Caerphilly, south Wales. They even have a video here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7498195.stm
Enjoy!

Wed Jul 30, 10:36:00 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/
1/hi/wales/south_east/
7498195.stm

Omit line breaks. Hope that works!

Wed Jul 30, 10:37:00 pm  
Blogger jem said...

I read about this little devil a little while ago. Thought it was fantastic that its one of the first Latin names that features Welsh.

Your story adds a whole new dimension. Fun, creepy, sad!

Thu Jul 31, 10:05:00 am  
Blogger Anne S said...

It looks like a creature out of nightmare. Don't know if I really want to think about it, considering my loathing of slugs.

Thu Jul 31, 12:00:00 pm  
Blogger Clare Dudman said...

Thanks CFR - good links! Yes, Jem, it's great that Welsh has been included. I read once that Welsh was thought to be not a sophisticated-enough language to convey science (or modern life!).

Anne S: Yes, pretty horrible, I agree...don't ever read Patricia Highsmith's short stories - you'd never sleep again.

Thu Jul 31, 06:59:00 pm  
Blogger Kay Cooke said...

Yes it provides shudders and shivers and proves just how powerfully you assemble words Clare -it's a gift.

Sat Aug 02, 02:55:00 am  
Blogger Clare Dudman said...

Oh, you are very kind, Kay - and means a lot from a wordsmith like you!

Sat Aug 02, 01:08:00 pm  
Blogger Unknown said...

Welsh vowels :
A E I O U W Y

Thu Mar 24, 03:44:00 am  

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