silent · sentient scarecrow · melancholic · rural setting · magical realism · tragic · lonely · anthropomorphic · romance
The scarecrow, a tangled heap of refuse, straw, and crossed timber, stood useless beneath the storm. Its paint was a rain-blurred smear, its clown's hat punctured and sagging—it inspired pity, not fear. The stones of children and the contempt of its creator were its only reality. Then, through the sheeting rain, a feminine figure emerged. She halted before it, ignoring the danger, and observed with an intensity that stilled the very wind.