Good Night
Regular readers of my blog will be aware that I write a lot of short stories - specifically in the '75-word' Flash Fiction format (as found on the Paragraph Planet website). I often visit the website Deviant Art trawling it for inspiration when my own brain has failed to internally produce something worthy of conversion into prose.At the end of August I came across a wonderful picture entitled 'Good Night' by the artist Leffsha and twenty minutes later I'd written a story based upon it.What I particularly liked was the role reversal between the 'monster' (under the bed) and the little girl. The expressions on both the creature and the girl had so much emotional content, so vividly displayed, that it was easy to find the words to turn the image into a story.I asked Leffsha if I could use the image here, in this blog, after she'd read the story and she agreed.So here is the image and the short story it inspired.
It woke with a start, the presence of the creature above pressing down on the little space it occupied in the world. It crept further into the darkness, pushed back into the shadows as light poured in. It let out an involuntary squeak, its eyes flickering in fear as the weight shifted above it and then two shining, inquisitive brown orbs, framed by fearful and fiery red hair appeared. Then it saw the terrible smile...
You can find the original image here: Good NightAs ever, thank-you for your time.John