Day 140 Writing Short Stories And Ruminating

Sauna

She curled up quietly at the top of the bench under the huge washing basket. All the people had gone inside the house to prepare to sleep. They had thrown their last water onto the stove for the house-elves. This was her chance to catch them. To see if they were true, or if her parents had made the elves up.

She stayed there curled, enjoying the diminishing heat. It was so nice that it made her want to close her eyes, but she knew she mustn’t. Strong men had died when they had fallen asleep in a sauna.

It was said that the house-elves brought good luck into the house if they were treated right. You did little favors for them, leaving them milk, making sure they had the last heat of the sauna. You didn’t want to anger the elves. They would let you know if you had. The house would fall into ruins.

She did her best to keep her eyes open, but the heat and the basket over her were too much. She lowered her head onto the wood and closed her eyes just for a little while. The next thing she knew, she woke up; she felt a panic rise. She pinched herself to make sure she was alive. Only when she was sure did she notice that she had been lying on the changing room’s bench, not in the sauna. Her skin was red and sore, but she was alive. She peeked inside the sauna. The basket was toppled over on the floor.

She rushed out of the building into the night and hurried into her own bed. She would leave a huge saucer of milk straight thing tomorrow in the barn for the elves.

The First Day In Kindergarten

The madam lined all the kids in a row, making them pick a number. She arranged them into groups and chose a spot for them to play. He looked at his group curiously, but none of them returned his gaze. He opened his mouth several times and then closed it, mimicking the play the kids had started. When it was time to change, he hid behind the tree and stayed there until the bell rang, telling them to go inside. He watched the other children leave and the madam hurry after them. He stayed outside and climbed to the tree, watching the sky and the passing clouds over him.

“I like it here too,” a boy’s voice said, startling him, but there came a hand stopping him from falling.

“I wouldn’t do that,” the boy said.

He looked around, unable to see anyone or the hand that had clearly clutched him.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“Just a boy like you. But you have to promise, you won’t laugh or be scared if I show myself.”

“I promise.”

“Pinkie swear?”

“Pinkie swear.” He held up his pinkie in the air, feeling a pinkie twist with his. It materialized slowly, and there was a pale little boy with hollow eyes, a tentacle-like tongue, and huge fangs.

“See,” the strange boy said.

“I see.” He shrugged. “I have seen far force. Madam is a banshee if I know one,” he laughed.

The strange little boy laughed with him.

They stayed in the tree until his parents came to pick him up. He left the strange boy behind, sure he had made a new friend.

Man

I don’t know how to write this one. A woman is looking through a wedding album, and there is a strange man in all of her pictures. I think this prompt is too long to be written, needing to be foregrounded.

The Prompts are from the book A Year of Creative Writing Prompts.

Writing gods, oh why, oh why? Again, the prompts are tormenting me. Where are the space adventures with evil empires and smuggling? Where are the monsters under the bed? My wrist is busted, and you don’t take pity on me. You give a prompt about the Sauna! Sauna! While I love it and have grown up in a country that has one for every citizen, I don’t have a passion to write a story of one. But I must admit, it was fun to try to turn the folklore I grew up with into a story. Every house has its elf. You must make a deal with them to live in peace alongside them. I still throw extra water on the stove after leaving the sauna.

Thank you for reading! Have a day full of spirits and the elves. Be careful, though, as they may try to trick you if you don’t know what they are truly like.