She had given herself to the swamp, and the swamp had given back in exchange. She still occasionally had to deal with civilization, such as the travelers who claimed they were just passing through.
Their gear and weapons told her a different story.
There’s always someone so afraid of a strange old woman that they’d pay to have her removed. But she was a part of the swamp now. They couldn’t kill her and make it stick.
She cackled as she promised them safe passage. The swamp would do its work for her, and she would grow on the rot.

“Somewhere In The Swamps of Jersey” by James Loesch is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

My very short story collection, The Mountain’s Shadow is available now from Amazon and Smashwords!

Everyday Drabbles © 2025 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0