An Unlikely Encounter by the River
Emily and her husband, along with their daughter, decided to turn their lives upside down—leaving the bustling streets of London behind for the quiet countryside of Cornwall. They bought a cottage, tended to their little farm, and planted a vegetable patch. A fresh start. In the evenings, Emily would stroll by the river with her goats, watching the sun dip below the hills, relishing the hush of the countryside.
“Mum, it’s getting dark—where are you off to with the goats again?” called her daughter, Charlotte, puzzled.
“Just down to the riverbank—the grass is sweeter there,” Emily replied. “I’ll be back in an hour, don’t fret.”
But an hour passed, then two, and still no sign of her. Charlotte grew uneasy and persuaded her father to go searching. It took them a while to find Emily. When they did, they froze—she sat on the garden bench, pale and trembling, caught between laughter and tears.
“Mum, what happened?” Charlotte asked, voice tight with worry.
“I saw something,” Emily whispered. “Not a ghost… worse.”
Only an hour earlier, she’d been walking her usual path by the river. The goats grazed while she rested under an oak, dozing off briefly. She woke to dusk, startled, and hurried to gather them—but the stubborn creatures had wandered into the thicket. Emily followed, calling their names. Then she noticed something moving in the tall grass behind the last goat—long, dark…
At first, she thought: a stoat. Then dread coiled in her chest—what if it was rabid? The shadow kept pace. Her goat, Daisy, started bleating in alarm. Emily raised her walking stick, ready to defend her—just as the thing lurched forward, as if to pounce.
But when it was over, and she dared to look closer… it was a pair of enormous boxer shorts, tangled in fishing line, snagged on Daisy’s horns. Some angler must’ve left them drying on the bushes, and the goat had dragged them along.
Emily collapsed onto the grass, laughter bursting free—relief, fear, adrenaline all spilling out in waves. That was how her husband and daughter found her. Back at the cottage, they forbade her from taking the goats to the riverbank after dark. Who knew what else might come “alive” out there?
