Flash Fiction: February 4, 2025
The writing prompt: Describe a mysterious circus that appears only at midnight.
As soon as the little girl heard her parents’ bedroom door shut across the hall, she ran over to her toy box. The sun had set hours ago, and the moon was full this evening.
From the window looking out onto the city street, a beam was being cast directly onto her small bed. Quietly, she pulled out her toy lion, a stuffed elephant, and a doll from the box. It took her a few moments, but the girl was able to slowly close the box without making a sound. Bursting in anticipation, she leaped onto her bed while holding her stuffed toys tightly in her arms.
After catching her breath, the girl crawled toward the moonbeam in the center of her bed. Carefully, she placed the stuffed elephant on the outskirts of the bright light before situating the toy lion closer to its center.
The sound of an ambulance siren in the distance interrupted her train of thought, growing louder as she reached for her doll. Although it had seen better days, the girl still loved the toy fiercely, for it was when she touched it that everything else came to life.
Moonlight illuminated the face of the doll as soon as it was placed in the center of the beam, jolting the girl backward onto her pillow. With her mouth gaped open, she watched in awe, despite having seen the sight before.
Slowly, the toy lion arched its back, stretching in all its glory before releasing a tiny roar. Then, the stuffed elephant began strolling along the edge of the light, swinging its trunk in glee. Grinning, the girl watched the doll sit up before eventually coming to its feet.
She expected the sound of circus music to follow, but her ears were met with her mother’s sobs and a knock at the bedroom door.