Short Story: "Hook and Net and Twenty Men" (Original Fiction)

Hook and Net and Twenty Men | 2069 words | Fantasy

Marie was lounging in a chair in the parlor, reading through an old book for perhaps the fiftieth time, when the clock on the mantel began ticking again. It was as quiet as any clock, but after nearly three years of silence, each second cracked like a gunshot to Marie’s ears, and apprehension and curiosity immediately went to war in her heart. What had the ferryman brought this time? Would it look anything like Rose, or would Marie need to peel and scrub away layers of salt and sand, gouge out crystals of coagulated sin as bright and seductive as any ruby?

There was only one way to find out.

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