Ella had changed train at Ipswich and was now on the second leg. The journey was not that long but it was proving rather trying.
“Stereo vision is so much better. It is much easier to place objects in terms of distance and interrelation.” Eostre’s voice, from inside her head.
“I know, I have had eyes for 16 years.”
“You have slight astigmatism in your right eye, probably not worth correcting. The directional hearing is a big plus too.”
“I know, I have had it for 16 years.”
The whole journey was punctuated with Eostre’s pronouncements and interjections. Ella had occasionally been a little annoyed when she had sat on a train and there was a mother with an insupressible five year old child asking questions, pointing things out in a constant stream. Never again will I think badly of them she thought to herself. Eostre didn’t sem to hear all her thoughts, just the ones directed at her, which was probably just as well.
“Look a field full of cows”
“Seen loads.”
It was going to be a long day.
They got off the train, she walked down to the station forecourt, pulled out her phone and opened Google Maps.
“You don’t need that, I know the way”
“I want to use Google Maps.”
When she got to the college there was a big set of signs, one for each course, with arrows indicating which way they should go, the route had been waymarked and ended in a tutorial room, fitted out with desks, chairs with a white board and a large monitor mounted on the wall.
“The room is smaller than I expected.”
“There are fifteen of us enrolled on the course, some won’t be here today, it is plenty big enough”
“Are you going to talk to anyone?”
“Probably.”
“That girl forgot to put her jeans on.”
“It is a minidress.”
Ella had been worried about being late, so inevitably, had ended up being early but there were three other students already there and the course director, he came over and greeted her “Hi Ella, lovely to see you again, we are expecting a few more people shortly, let me introduce you to the others who are already here.”
“He seems nice, rather high BMI though, he should lose a little weight, blood pressure raised too, but that could be just the slight stress he is feeling at the moment over this event.”
“Call me Geoff – art college, not school.” He smiled back at her. “Sorry, my line with everyone today. Take a seat, these are. .” he pointed at the others in turn “Eddie, Frieda and Jane.”
They introduced themselves, Eddie asked “What kind of art are you into Ella?”
“He is sexually attracted to you, but I think Jane is his mate, she has reacted negatively to his manner towards you.”
“Stop!”
“Quite a range of stuff, I do like some of the very early animated films, Snow White for instance, the fact they every frame was crafted by hand amazes me, very beautifully done, also Japanese art and animation, the interplay between of their cultural heritage and the forms and themes in modern manga and anime. Also cartooning, how the great cartoonists can create sadness in a face with a single line and change it to joy with another. But at the moment, I am working on something, well I love mythology, Greek, Norse and our own, Anglo-Saxon and there is myth in East Anglia of Black Shuck a spectral dog and, well a friend of mine has a big black dog, he does things like nap under a hedge and then when you walk past he well step out and it is almost as if he has appeared out of thin air.”
“You aren’t going to tell them about Shuck?!”
“Don’t worry.”
Jane nodded “I think I may have a spectral cat, she does stuff like that. Did you bring any of your work on it with you?”
Ella reached into her big and pulled out a folder, she opened it up and placed it in front of Jane, Eddie had to scuttle behind her to look over her shoulder, “Best place for him” Ella thought, then out loud “I am starting a storyboard, soft pencil, I started with it because I find it easy to work with, but I think I may keep that look as I go on with it.”
Geoff chipped in “Ella, these are really strong, quite dramatic even and, yes, I think the technique suits the subject.”
Jane nodded “Dark, misty, yes, just right for the Black Shuck. What’s the story?”
Ella smiled at Jane “I am not quite sure yet, I am hoping it will come to me more as I draw, but I am not thinking of this being too dark a story. There are different tales of the Shuck in some he is a monster, in others the opposite.”
Frieda looked up from the drawings “I love your drawings, before we moved to Suffolk, I grew up in Somerset, we have a legend of the Gurt Dog, who is the guardian of the forest and looks after lost children. Is that more what you mean?”
Ella nodded “Yes, that is very like the Fenland version, the Shuck followed lone travellers to much sure they were safe in the marshes, that is exactly the kind of thing I had in mind.”
Geoff said “Thank you for showing us Ella, I am really looking forward to seeing more of Shuck. Does anyone else have anything to show me.”
The others produced their work,
Published on February 9, 2026