Barbara, The Dinosaur, and the Water Horse: Chapter 1

Hello friends!

As many of you may know, I have multiple unpublished manuscripts. Some are novels, many are plays, and many I'm transforming into screenplays. I wanted to be sure to share chapter 1 of my two novels with you to catch your eye. What do you think will happen next?

Should I continue posting chapters, or can you help me get traction to officially publish my features? Only time will tell!

Enjoy!

Barbara, The Dinosaur, and the Water Horse

Synopsis: Who was Barbara Madison and what was she made for? The paleontologist jumps into a world of myth and legend, followed by a past to grieve over. Looking too much like a certain doll with a very similar name, she learns that she herself is also capable of anything - the good and the bad. In the author's childhood, dolls under a certain name were never just keeping house or finding the prince; they were also saving their sisters, taking care of their pet dinosaur, having successful careers, and defeating the evil plans of a mysterious horse. "Barbara, The Dinosaur, and the Water Horse" is a story with a modern reflection to this past, the first science fiction author Mary Shelley, and a reanalysis of where her storytelling started; with her toys and her aunt - within her great-grandmother's rose room.

Chapter One: The Deep Sea 

The water horse was a misunderstood creature. Sure, perhaps he viciously murdered Kenneth Zenith, pro surfer and fiancé to Barbara Madison. It was an accident; the water ran too fast; he ran too fast. He always forgot that humans could not breathe underwater. 

The water horse ran closer and closer to Barbara. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ve made this mistake too many times. Don’t be afraid.” But Barbara was on land - and could not speak horse.

The water horse thought that perhaps if they collected enough seaweed, they could transfigure, or turn into a human every now and then. It took a great deal of energy, so this was only when absolutely necessary. The water horse collected the seaweed piece by piece, tying one to another so as not to lose them. 

Meters of seaweed was not enough to become human. Birds collected pieces of hair and string for their nests, yet still remained birds. The next step was the fiercest of them all - the water horse had to answer to the siren’s call. The water horse’s hooves shook with fear at the thought of the sirens. They were beautiful, but had nothing much more to reveal about themselves. They kept their personal lives secret, just like Medusa who still lived in a cave to the south with flowing locks of venomous snakes and eyes that turned men to stone. 

It was said that the siren’s were not compelling men to the death by the song, but rather what the sirens had to say within their eight part harmonies. A haunting tune. Perhaps they told of personal misdeeds. Perhaps they told of true love. Perhaps they told of how the men would meet their untimely deaths. 

The water horse was so compelled by the depth of the sea - so compelled that when the bravest found themselves on the water horse’s back, there was no use and no point of return. Kenneth held on for dear life; that was exactly his demise. Before he died, he did whisper, “but, my fiancé-” which made the water horse very sad, although he had no idea who she was. 

“You’ll need more seaweed.” the first siren said. The siren’s cavern was coated in bioluminescence. Although deep into the ocean, the cave hosted a large pocket of air at its highest point and aquatic plants that resupplied oxygen to the sirens that lounged on the dry sand of the underwater beach. It felt like night and day, underwater and land, all at the same time. 

“This seaweed is good, but not enough.” the second one replied. 

A crowd of them nodded and murmured in agreement. 

“How much more?” The water horse replied. “What do you do with it?” 

“We eat it.” 

The water horse looked in horror. 

“Come now,” said the first siren. “You couldn’t think we could just live off of eating the hearts of sullen sailors and pirates. Some of them we just can’t bear to consume. Some of them have too kind of a heart - we let those ones go. Some of them smell too vile. Those are the ones we try to sanitize.” 

“Or we feed those to our guppies.” A small one stated matter of fact. 

“Yes,” the second one replied again. “We are mostly vegetarian - besides the whole luring men out to sea and eating their flesh bit.” 

“A-Again, how much more seaweed?” The water horse asked. 

“Well that depends, you are afeared of us. That’s a good thing. Why do you want to transfigure into a human?” 

“Yes, what are your motivations?” 

“I killed a woman’s fiancé. I would like to apologize.” The water horse said bashfully. 

“Why? The man was not your first nor your last victim.” 

The water horse didn’t know what to say. “I know what I am.” 

“Careful that you don’t become the villain. You already are.”

“You killed her fiancé.” 

“What if I’m really sorry?” 

“You’re infatuated.” The oldest siren mused. “You really should be careful.”

The sirens deliberated. They had a democracy after all. After many hours of the water horse pacing back and forth, they paused. “We are hungry and we have a job to do.” The sirens agreed. “You must bring us more seaweed if you want to become a man for a day. Meanwhile, we can find her psyche. We can help you enter her dreams. Try to tell her. Who knows why you want to do this, but you do.” 

“What if I would want to be a man, like a good man, forever?” 

The sirens scoffed. “Why on earth would you want to do that?” 

They agreed unanimously. “No one in the sea would want to be on land longer than a day. If you collect enough seaweed, you’ll see why.” 

One old siren coughed. “I remember.” 

“What?” Asked the water horse. 

“There was once a siren when I was young that fell in love with a man. Why this man - we do not know. Did she ever hear him speak?” 

“No?” Replied the sirens. 

“No. Did she even know his name?” Continued the elderly siren. 

“No?” Replied the sirens. 

“No.” 

“ Exactly, anyway, I guess he was attractive, but you would never believe how many attractive men we find have rotten hearts. Sometimes you see it in their eyes.” 

“We have to feed them to our guppies.” The young looking one reaffirmed. 

“Anyway, he never loved her back, which broke her heart and she died. She was a fish out of water.” 

“You’ve already killed her fiancé. It’s not worth it.” The sirens all agreed. 

--- To Be Continued ---