THE PRINCESS ZoNe- FWG-FB 300 word flash fiction based on the picture below. No triggers.

“Nooooo…! Momma, why did you blow them out? They’re helping the pumpkins!”

“Margot Sinclair, you are six years old! Why did you think it was okay to light candles next to my Halloween decorations?!?!?” I was furious! This child was always into something! I raised my hand and thought about brushing it across her tiny tail, but I had issues with spanking my daughter. 

The make-up I so carefully applied to intensify her Cinderella costume ran down her face along with those giant crocodile tears that always threw me into a frenzy of sadness. Truly, I blamed Kyle. Everyone in America stopped smoking cigarettes but not this guy, he just couldn’t let go of the habit and he never put his lighter in a secure place. 

“Mommy’s sorry, baby. You cannot play with fire – EVER!” I grabbed a Kleenex and dabbed away at her chunky little cheeks, removing the evidence of hurt. Her silky long blue dress cascaded down to the small heals I painted silver in an attempt to make glass slippers.     She was a cutie!

Her plastic orange pumpkin was overflowing with candy by the time we made it back from trick-or-treating. I checked the loot for evidence of tampering and let her have a couple of pieces of the sugar I despised. She yawned, then cried and yawned again. “To sleepy town you go!” I carried her to bed, tucked her in and kissed her forehead. 

Kyle decided to toss the pumpkins into the backyard for our pet pig-Wilbur, he would most definitely indulge. “Have these things grown?” He heaved and groaned as I laughed. Surprisingly, they did appear quite a bit larger. I was probably just tired.

The next morning, I went into the kitchen, started the coffee, and flipped on the television with the remote Kyle left on the counter along with his lighter. I threw it – in the garbage!

BREAKING NEWS ALERT ticked across the bottom of the screen. I paused to listen. “Residents of Buliver claim to have seen a small girl being carried away in a carriage that resembled a pumpkin.” I dropped the creamer and ran to Margot’s room. She was gone and there in her place was a tiny pamphlet full of pictures – titled THE PRINCESS ZONE – How to transform your Halloween pumpkin into transportation fit for royalty.