The girl walked among the clouds. They moved and shifted underneath her, becoming solid under her feet. She looked over the edge at the world below, the view over her hometown greeting her.
She couldn’t see but she knew it was her fifth birthday. Banners draped around the house with celebratory wishes for a little girl. Sitting on the stairs going up to the second floor clutching a book about fairies. She had gotten it the night before from her grandmother who lived with her and her parents. It was an early birthday gift and she loved the glitter on the fairies’ wings, the way they sparkled into the light.
The girl stood looking down from the clouds with a faint smile on her lips.
‘So this is where the story begins?’ The Shadow moved to stand next to her. He walked with an air of power that turned the clouds underneath them gray and electric.
‘I suppose so.’ She didn’t look at him, just continued to see inside the house.
Her grandmother was helping to prepare for the party. Her mom and dad had left to get the final decoration and the cake. The girl was the most excited about the cake because it looked like a dress and there was a doll wearing it and she thought it was utterly fantastic. It was an excitement she wouldn’t feel again for a long time.
‘A quaint little town.’ He had gotten closer and the hair on her arms stood up. ‘Too bad.’
They both knew what happened. She didn’t even know why he had asked his initial question. He seemed to know it all already, he knew everything about everything. That’s how she had come to make the deal with him. Maybe she just enjoyed pretending to have control.
‘Alright I’m done.’
‘Do you normally decide when your dreams end?’
‘It usually ends pretty quickly when you pick up on the fact it’s a dream.’
‘Does it?’
She ignored him and walked away from the edge further into the clouds. She didn’t see when he stomped his foot on the cloud that sent a shock of power onto the road. Or when that power hit a blue suburban family car. Or when the car spun out of control. Or when two people inside knew they would not be making it home.
Or the smeared birthday cake in the back seat.
‘Happy 5th Birthday Anna!’
