Echoes of a Bell

(one-page stories for a little girl)

1: Knell

...

Once upon a time there was a little boy, who tried to get the cookie jar from the highest shelf. There was a little bird, that tried to fly after its mother too soon for its wings to manage. There was a wristwatch, an old model that went from owner to owner.

And no matter how many times the jar fell on the boy's head, the bird kept trying to stay airborne, as long as the wristwatch's battery was replaced.

Until the time came when there were no more cookies to go after, until the little bird was alone and fell into the fox's jaws, and the wristwatch's mechanism broke beyond repair.

Because the night is dangerous; and once upon a time, there was a young man, a bullet and a madman, and there comes a time when all stories must end.

...