Back in July 2015 I wrote a little “Flash Fiction” for Fantasy Faction. Flash fiction is very short pieces that must be under 500 words. I placed fourth or something like that. Anyway, sitting here bored and suddenly remembered it. Here it is for your rapid enjoyment:
Little Elizabeth
Little Elizabeth clamped a hand over her mouth to smother her burst of laughter. In her other hand the flashlight bounced lighting up her nightgown and the book she had propped up on her bent knees on her bed. The duvet that covered her hid all evidence from parental eyes that she was breaking the rules and staying up well past her bedtime. This thought was what drew the giggle from her. She loved breaking the rules and loved staying up late to read under the covers.
Her mother was getting better at catching her but she was getting better at recognising when her mother was going to try and stop her nightly reading. Today she had rigged up a rather complex mechanism that would ring a tiny bell hidden between her nightstand and her mammoth Queen-sized bed. A bed for which a little girl of ten years of age could turn into a tableau of amazing adventures.
Under the covers she had travelled the seas as the captain of a pirate ship, she had explored strange alien worlds, and fought dragons and won. But best of all was the escape to the worlds found written on plain paper and bound with exciting and wonderful covers. She wished she could escape to these worlds forever. She wished it with everything she had.
Ding-a-ling!
The little bell beside her bed tinkled and she gasped and shut off the flashlight, stowed it expertly beneath her pillow and collapsed flat in bed. With a sharp tug she pulled down the duvet to expose her face to the cool night air and she listened carefully for her door to open. She strained her ears but heard nothing from the door. She cracked one eye open but with the light of her flashlight still sparkling in her eyes she could see nothing. She screwed her eye shut and stopped her breathing and listened again.
Ding-a-ling!
She gave a small cry as the bell rang yet again. She sat up in bed and reached under her pillow and pulled the flashlight free. She snapped it on and turned the beam of light to her door. It stood closed. She followed the line of string along its tracks until she had to lean over the edge of her bed to shine the light on the bell.
Elizabeth blinked. There grasping the string and with its feet on the bell was a little figure no bigger than a moth. It was a little person wearing a tight green dress and wearing a little strange cap. Behind her was a blur of moving wings and the little person smiled up at Elizabeth.
With a blur of motion the little person swooped up into the air, trailing glittering dust, and spun all around Elizabeth faster and faster. The room lit up with a bright flash.
The flashlight landed on the empty bed with a muffled thump and the duvet slowly sank to close the empty spot where Elizabeth once lay.
Hope you enjoyed it!