The Following

Great contest this week from @vermillionfox! I definitely took more liberties than I should have with this one. Not sure if my format qualifies but man did I have fun writing this one!

Hope you enjoy my 1st entry to Fox Tales #22!

"Who is that out in the woods, Papa? A beggar?"
Henrick looked out, into the forest, thick with swamp fog. Sure enough, a cloaked figure, appeared to be wandering within the marshlands. Aimless.

Henrick slung his hunting rifle around his shoulder and pulled his daughter, Lena, close. Holding onto his Lena, he proceeded to back away quietly until they took cover behind a rotted out willow tree.

"You're too young to know about the Lady Of The Marsh." He explained, in a hushed whisper. "Years ago, there was a famous tailor looking for a place to open his next shop. He travelled with his wife from far away, scouring the lands for a place to his wife's liking. His wife was easily the most beautiful girl in the village."
"I thought I was the most beautiful girl in the village." Lena reminded him.
"My apologies. She was the second most beautiful girl in the village. But, she was mad. She insisted, that her husband open his shop in our small village. He fought her on it but, eventually she won."
"Why would she want to open a shop in our small village, Papa?"
Henrick motioned for Lena to keep her voice down. "Well, at the time, she had a very large Steepshot following. Many upvotes. Many emojis. Most of the content contained posts of her, wearing the clothing her husband had designed to her specifications. Her husband slaved day and night for her Steepshot account. With all that success, a small village like our should be begging them to come, right? So they opened their shop in town and it's an instant failure. Too expensive. Who wants designer belts and cardigans in a hunting town like ours?
A few months went by and the husband was ready to pack up shop but, the girl, she didn't give up. She looked around and asked the question, 'why aren't we selling our clothing?' And since her clothing wasn't selling she had less to post on Steepshot."

"Then, during one of her forest walks, she was taking selfies, trying to keep her following and it got very cold. That's when it occurred to her. Cloaks. Yes. It gets very wet and cold in our village and everyone could use a good cloak. She ran back to her husband and ordered him to design several cloaks. They were an overnight success!"
Lena shushed her father. "Papa, now you're the one who's too loud."
"Apologies. So, they were selling cloaks left and right. Like hotcakes. The girl's Steepshot blew up. She kept demanding more and more cloaks from her husband. Longer and longer was the fashion. She would go into the woods, snap a few selfies and rake in the Steem. She became obsessed. The husband, he was non-stop working. His health started to decline and there was one day where he became so sick he was unable to finish his newest cloak creation. He instead was forced to stay in bed. This worried the girl because she knew it would take away time from her Steepshot posts. She ordered one of her Steepshot followers in the village to check on her husband while she went out and made another post.
'Really quick' she said. She grabbed the newest unfinished cloak creation and tried it on. It was a little long but the stitching and design was the best the husband had ever done. She figured she would only take selfies of the top up. So she set out to the marshes for some #interestingphotos. When she got to the marsh, she started taking selfies instantly, not really thinking about what she was doing. Her footing was off and she slipped into the marsh..."
Lena gasped. "What happened?" She asked.
"Well" Henrick continued, "The cloak, as you know, was too long. It became very heavy in the marsh and she was having a hard time maneuvering as you could imagine. She dropped her phone and tried to pull it out and before you know it, the marsh swallowed her whole."
Lena's jaw dropped. "OMG! So that dark figure over there? That's her ghost?"
Henrick smiled, "I don't know who that is but, the next time you're on your phone, posting this or tweeting that, not really paying attention to what you're doing, think about that story."