There was a fireplace in my old bedroom, or rather, an empty space where a fireplace used to be. Except that the empty space had now been filled by a blue-and-white chest of drawers. Every night, I’d wait until the grown-ups were asleep and then I’d move them. Because only I knew that behind that chest of drawers was not an empty space at all, but a secret staircase behind a hidden door.
At the bottom of the staircase was an old curiosity shop shaped like a cat. On his collar hung a sign which read ‘If you are a dreamer, come in.’ Then all you had to do was tickle his nose, and he would open his mouth wide so you could enter. Inside were many wonders, greatest of all being a feeling of comfort, and of absolute protection from the world outside.
Written for dVerse
Tonight, Lillian is hosting Prosery, and has asked us to incorporate the line ‘If you are a dreamer, come in’ from Shel Silverstein’s poem ‘Invitation’ into a short prose piece of 144 words or less. This story is based on a recurring dream I had as a child, where the cat/curiosity shop took the form of Bagpuss (pictured.) It was tough to condense this dream into a 144-word flash fiction!
And if you’ve never seen Bagpuss, or fancy a trip down memory lane, you’re in for a treat:
