She hides behind drooping willows, staring at her prey grazing on the stream's far side. He lifts his head, lowers it. Tawny form glides over slick rocks. Exploding she grasps his rump with iron claws and pulls him down, springing away from falling body, gouging antlers, flailing hoofs. The deer cries out in anguished dialect, as her ghostly breath bursts his heart.
Trees shake bleeding birds from branches.
For some twenty years Ms. Newton taught high school English, first year French and creative writing. She spends her time now writing poems and fantasy stories. Ms. Newton and her husband and live in the Sacramento Valley. Their two children are grown. Besides writing and grandchildren, her passion is travel.