Fran and the Man of Spiders

A Story by Felicity Wyrd

A 247-word story about a nonbinary called Fran.

Fran’s boyfriend had finally proposed to them - he’d only been promising it for three years. They were the happiest they’d ever been, and they couldn’t help but admire the beautiful emerald shimmering on their finger. It wasn’t the typical diamond, because Fran wasn’t a typical person, and Tim loved them for it.

Snapping out of the thought they’d been lost in, Fran turned back to their finger, but to their horror the ring was gone. They frantically searched the room, and just as they were about to give up they caught a glimpse of the ring slowly leaving the bedroom window on the back of a spider.

Fran was terrified of spiders. But the ring was special; Tim had got if for them. Swallowing the fear, Fran began to follow. Leading them through the street, just out of reach, just that little bit faster than Fran, the spider seemed determined to take the ring somewhere. Where would a spider take a ring? And why? These questions were quickly answered when the spider headed towards a sinister-looking stranger in a trench coat, his back turned to Fran, his head covered by a fedora. The spider climbed up the man’s leg and disappeared into his coat.

“Wh-who are you? And what do you want with my ring?”

The stranger turned to face Fran - but instead of a face, Fran saw a mass of spiders, working together as a horrifying spectacle of arachnophobes’ nightmares.

The whole village heard Fran scream.