The Castle Dark

The knight searched both far and wide,
Looking for his lady fair.
But she was trapped in the castle dark,
Where the smell of lilacs filled the air.

When he noticed that his daughter, Lizzie, had already fallen asleep, Sam closed the book that he was reading. ”One of these days,” he thought, “She’s going to stay awake long enough that I’ll get to finish that story.”
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Liz was running late. Again. It was the third time this month. Much more of that and the boss would fire her. That always made her giggle. Working for her father sometimes had its benefits. Sure, she’d get “The Frown” and she’d promise to do better, but she knew she wasn’t in any real trouble. She threw her keys, make-up and perfume into her purse and ran out the door. This wouldn’t be the first time she finished getting ready in the women’s washroom.

Sam hid a smile when he saw Liz rush in and head straight to the ladies’ room. She was so much like her mother. Suddenly, his ears popped and the picture frames on his desk started to shimmy towards the edge. That was his only warning before the world turned upside down.

The explosion that ripped through the basement originated in the boiler room. Despite the damage caused to the floors above the boiler, the building was still standing. Rescue workers had pulled everyone that they could find in the building out.

The worst injury was to Sam, when he clipped his head on his desk. Groggily, he looked around at the other evacuees when it dawned on him that Liz wasn’t there. He grabbed the arm of a fireman and tried to tell him, but his head was threatening to turn the lights out. All he could get out was a feeble, “My daughter… Still…” before his vision started to go dark and he sank to the ground with the help of the fireman.

Ed ran back into the building after helping the old guy sit down. Where to look? Remembering where they found him, he carefully climbed over debris and made his way up. When he got to what was left of the third floor, all he could smell was flowers. It reminded him of being a kid on his aunt’s farm in the springtime. The smell seemed to be coming from behind a chunk of ceiling that had fallen down. With a little effort, he was able to move it without making more of it collapse and could see a doorway behind it.

“Is anyone there?” he shouted. He forced open the door and shone his flashlight in. He found Liz no worse for wear, except for the smell of flowers that seemed to be coming from her. Broken bits of bottle sparkled in the light.

Sam looked up and saw the fireman helping Liz over to where he sat. Her perfume filled his nose and he smiled. He finally knew how the story ended.

-Babaluzer
500 words dead on!
July 29th, 2007