Dreams Are Free
She sat quietly in the small space she’d discovered on the top floor of her uncle’s house. A box room, probably meant for storage, but there was a chair, some old boxes of books and small window overlooking the lake.
She was reflecting on recent events that had brought her here. The hectic comings and goings of visitors had given her an excuse to disappear for a while.
Grateful for the solace of the tiny room, she let her mind wander wherever it chose to go. A sudden knock on the door made her jump.
“Ella. Are you in there?”, said her cousin Joel.
She wondered how long before someone came looking.
“What are you doing?” He demanded. “We need to talk”
She replied reluctantly, “Joel, if you are a dreamer, come on in. If not, then you can just let me be. OK?”
Copyright © 2021 Christine Bolton – Poetry for Healing
All Rights Reserved
Lillian is hosting Prosery Monday at D'Verse Poets tonight and has prompted us with the line "If you are a dreamer, come on in". The line is from Shel Silverstein’s poem, Invitation, as published in his wonderful book, Where the Sidewalk Ends. We are to write a piece of Flash Fiction no more that 144 words long, excluding the title, and MUST use the prompt line as stated. Image by Gaby Stein from Pixabay
wonderful Christine, great flash fiction!
Thank you! ☺️
Very captivating flash fiction. I wonder what are the recent events and why Joel “needed” to talk to her. So much mystery in few sentences. I love it.
Thanks Justin! The beauty of Flash Fiction – you can always expand ☺️
I think, that there are people who need a solace that others would see as loneliness.
I love “me” time ☺️
We all need a place like this at one time or another. I like the way she drew the boundary and condition of entering her sacred space. This is such a good lure into the rest of a story.
Thank you Mish. Yes, there is more to the story – there has to be! ☺️
Love the natural flow of this….that special place away from everyone and the easy conversation between the two. I can just feel it as real. I wonder if he decided to go away?
Thanks Lillian. I think there a lot more going on than we can see in 144 words! ☺️
Discriminating on that ‘dreamer’ criteria ,was a great idea! Well done!
Thanks you Susan. I appreciate it ☺️
I enjoyed the sparse but very vivid scene-setting, Christine. It pulled me into the story. I am intrigued about the ‘hectic comings and goings’ which had ‘given her an excuse to disappear for a while’.
Thank you Kim. I always appreciate your feedback. The story came into my head but the 144 words left a lot to be said! To be continued maybe? ☺️
That’s the good thing about flash fiction, you can develop it further.😊
Here’s to Ella for giving herself some space. We all need it once in a while!
Thanks Ingrid! Agreed ☺️
This felt very natural and believable, Christine. Lovely.
<3
David
Thanks David. I appreciate it 🥰
Excellent use of the prompt sentence.
Thank you dear Sadje 🥰
You’re welcome 😉