Writerly Wednesday – Dragon and Deer and Butter – Oh Flies!

Originally posted on Wordpress February 24, 2016

“Whaszat, mama!” Abby called excitedly and scampered away before I had a chance to answer let alone see what it was she was talking about. We were visiting a small petting zoo and she was thrilled by everything that met her blue eyes. My heart quickened as I momentarily lost sight of her among the other visitors.

I moved quickly through a group of people next to the deer enclosure. A heavy exhale rushed through my lips as I breathed a sigh of relief. Abby was kneeling on a rock, my little angel dressed in blue. A golden curl gently fell against her cheek as she leaned forward.

“What are you looking at, Abby?” I asked as I stood beside the rock and gently tousled the curls at her neck.

“Zat!”

I leaned forward and followed her pointing finger. Blades of bright green grass poked through the fence and brushed against the cold, grey boulder. I squinted; trying to focus my vision on whatever had grasped my daughter’s attention. A small movement caught my eye; the camouflaged insect was suddenly revealed. A green body with large transparent wings clung to a single blade.

“The dragonfly?” I looked back at Abby.

Her blue eyes widened with excitement, her dimples made deeper by the grin on her sweet face. “Zere’s dragons at da zoo?”

I laughed. “No, sweetie, a dragon-fly.”

“Yes, mama dragons fly, and zey breaze fire, too.” She sat back on her knees, curled her hands up at her chest, and hissed as though to imitate a dragon breathing fire.

I laughed again. “Come, Abby. Let’s go see the deer.”

“Deer flies?” Abby grabbed my hand and jumped down from the rock.

“No, just deer.”

“Whaz deer-flies?”

“A bug.”

“Santa has bugs?”

I stopped and looked down at Abby. Her eyes were wide with so many questions. “No, honey, his deer – fly.”

She smiled. “Yes, so we go see da deer-flies.”

I shook my head and towed Abby along.

“And zhen, maybe we see da butter-flies?” Abby’s little voice piped up.

I bit my lower lip; it was all I could do to keep from laughing.

Flash fiction prompt provided by http://www.writerlycorner.com/writerly-prompts/writerly-wednesday-2242016.

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