Pencil Sketch

Word Count: 300

Written for Daily Flash Fiction on 6/3/06. Prompt: Use the words hat, sketchbook, and something lucky.

Pencil Sketch

Kiley’s brow drew into a frown as she concentrated on putting the final finishing touches of her drawing into the sketchbook that was open on her lap.

It was a beautiful spring day outside but due to her illness, Kiley was stuck inside…again. She hated being cooped up in the house like an invalid, even though that’s exactly what she was. At least her drawings allowed her to escape for a while.

She paused to glance out the window. Her two brothers were playing on the lawn below. She watched them for a moment, feeling an aching sadness that she couldn’t join them.

She grasped her lucky pencil tighter and turned back to her drawing. “Let me escape from this world one more time,” she whispered as she always did right before she added the final line.

Just as she did, the drawing came to life right on the paper! Delight always filled her when this happened, even though she had an idea that it was only her imagination that made such magic possible.

She had drawn a man with his head bowed. He wore a hat cocked at a jaunty angle on his head that obscured his features, but after Kiley had drawn the last line, he raised his head and winked at her.

Kiley laughed with delight. It was always this way. Whatever she drew came to life, if only for a little while. Soon, she could see herself enter the drawing. The man bowed to her and she watched with fascination as he spun her into his arms. She was able to stand on two good legs, and dance as she was not able to do in real life.

When the pair stopped dancing, the man bowed to her again, leaving Kiley with just another pencil sketch.