The flock of females was in a tizzy over the new boy duck that had been seen near Gallow Lake. Serena fluttered as she told the other girls about him. “Oh, I’m not joking about this at all! They say his name is Tucker, and he waits around Gallow Lake–all handsome and stuff. When a girl comes by, he calls you over, and who knows what happens then!”
Mary giggled. “His name is Tucker? That’s so cute! Where did he fly from?”
“Nobody knows, but I hear he’s one of those bad boys. You know the type: quiet, handsome, takes what he wants. I almost drop eggs just thinking about him!”
The flock giggled so loudly that it could be heard for quite a distance. Mary was the worst of it. She was normally the shy type, but this mysterious duck from Gallow Lake had really overtaken her thoughts. She asked, “Have you seen him? Is he still there?”
Serena quacked, “Oh, I’m sure he is, but between you and me, I don’t think I have the guts. Only a few girls I know have been there, and well, they never wanted to leave is all I can say! That boy has charm beyond reason! It’s almost scary!”
“He sounds so dreamy!”
“Come on, Mary! You know you wanna go see him so bad!”
Mary blushed. She really did, but like Serena, she was scared of what the bad boy was like. Did that mean that he was not nice, or was it just a euphemism for being dirty? She was not sure but really wanted to know. “I gotta go. I’ll see you girls later!”
All the girls giggled, especially Serena, as she flew away. “Face it, Mary! You won’t know unless you go see him!”
Mother was less understanding. “I absolutely forbid you from seeing that duck!”
Mary huffed. “But Mother!”
“No ‘buts!’ I’ve been hearing some pretty strange things about this Tucker fellow. Women seem to have been disappearing lately. I don’t want you going over there!”
“Mother, this isn’t fair! You can’t keep controlling me like this! I’m not a duckling anymore!”
“I’m only telling you this because I care about you! Stay away from Gallow Lake!”
Mary lowered her head. There was something so hurtful about being restricted like that at her age. It just was not fair. Begrudgingly, she nodded to her mother duck; however, she had no plans on actually obeying.
The next day: Mary flew over towards Gallow Lake. She was not going to do anything; she just wanted to look at him. At the very least, it would be a chance to tell her friends what he looked like.
As she got close to the lake, she landed on the ground. It took a few glances before she saw the single duck in question. True enough, he did look quite handsome, but he also looked very lonely. Devilish thoughts ran through her mind.
She suddenly heard him call to her, “Hey, pretty duck! Come down and play with me!”
Her heart skipped a beat. Was Tucker calling her? Something was just so alluring about it. Was she really going to do it? She decided that she was not going to let her mother control her anymore. This had to be done. Mary flew right over and landed in Gallow Lake.
“So, you’re Tucker, right? I’ve heard a lot about you. Where you from?”
Tucker said not a word; he just looked at her with those pretty duck eyes. She blushed at first, but then something just felt off about it. She asked, “Are you all right? I’m not bothering you, am I?” He remained silent. The more he did not talk, the more Mary was suspicious.
She swam up close and gently pecked him on the beak. Her heart sunk within her. “Oh, no. Oh, God. You’re not real.” She turned and flapped her wings. “He’s not real!”
She took off into the air, quacking at the top of her lungs, “He’s not real! He’s not real!” A loud bang was heard from nearby, and Mary fell back to the water with only one final thought: she should have listened to her mother.
-Author Notes-
There comes a point in in a teenager’s life where he wants to rebel. There are a lot of temptations out there, and a lot of them are influenced by that person’s peers. Sometimes something looks so good, but ends up being a trap. That was the reason I used a duck decoy to illustrate that concept. The parents usually make good calls on these things and listening to them at these critical moments would be advisable.
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