There was a slide under the stairs. They didn’t know where it went. They didn’t have a cellar or a basement. Or, at least, they hadn’t before.
“I’m not going down that slide,” Ethel said. “Not ever!”
“You’re scared!” Claire said triumphantly. “I’m not scared.”
“You are!” Ethel said. “You’re just pretending you aren’t.”
“I’m not!” Look! I’ll show you!”
And with that Claire sat down on the slide and slid off into the dark. It took a while, but eventually her screams faded out to nothingness.
No-one spoke for a very long time. They thought they could hear Claire calling, but it was just Anna and Oya having tea in the kitchen.
“Well, I’m not going down there to find out where’s gone,” Tina said.
“No am I,” Ethel agreed. “Not ever.”
“Daniel?” Tina asked.
“Nah.”
The three of them went off to play in the garden.
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Notes:
1. Written on May 6th, 2021
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