Short Story

I opened my eyes slowly, sunshine streaming through the windows, unrestrained and unwanted. I groaned, while the blanket floated off me and folded nicely on the end of the bed. I laid there refusing to move. I listened to the sound of timid maids scurrying around and the muffled sounds of dishes clinking downstairs.  I finally sat up and allowed my clothes to dress me. As they did, I stared around the palace watching idiots grovel at my mother’s feet, not knowing that she couldn’t see them anyway. Once dressed, I sat in my chair and floated out the window. I yawned as the chair moved like a turtle towards the other tower, and willed it to move faster. I stepped through the window sill and went to my mother’s side.

“Please wake up mother,” I said, “Morning isn’t the same without you.”

My mother lay silently, her eyes wide and glassy.  I pulled her once lustrous red hair off of the fluffy pillow and set a brush to work on it. I studied her small frame and again started to feel hopeless. She had been like this for too long. I was the only one with access to her room, and therefore the only one to take care of her. I was also the only one left to make the sun rise.