Once Upon a Story [ SLOW UPDATES ]

Bedtime Stories (2)

Not me writing this right before going to bed 👁️👁️ The prompt is from Written Word Media in the Fantasy/Paranormal category.

The ocean becomes the sky.

Word count: 448
════════════════════════════

"Does my little cub want a bedtime story?"

The young boy jumps to his feet and runs straight to bed. He dives under the covers and curls into a ball, wobbling toward his pillows. His mother chuckles as his head pops out from the sheets.

"I'm ready!"

Sitting on his bed, she starts her story.

"My tale begins in the horizon–"

–Where the sky kisses the earth. The world around you resembles your home: verdant and fragrant with pine and daisies, filled with singing birds and running streams. But at that edge where the land disappears behind a large curve, the streams and rivers, the lakes, ponds, and oceans swirl up.

To your eyes, their snow foam sprinkles below as their currents push the liquid gold higher into the atmosphere.

The world around you is nothing like your home: with marine life swimming in the sky. Neck craned back and eyes locked onto the waves, you see a blue that shimmers and wiggles, a navy reflecting rainbows and raining teal droplets.

The salty scent of the sea reaches your nose, and you close your eyes as a thin mist rushes past you. Your ears hear clicks and echoes, loud rumbles and splashes. Your curious mind looks for answers and finds a pod of dolphins skipping and swimming by, a team of whales diving deep into the cerulean sea, storm clouds rising from the expanding blue, and flocks of birds feasting on small fish.

But the show has yet to end. You blink, and colours pour from every space: schools of fish, holographic and glistening swirl in masses and long branches of coral, cherry and lime with a hint of periwinkle stand like tall trees. You marvel at the jellyfish, some golden, others crystal clear; you gasp at the starfish, spotting peach and berry blue.

The view is incredible, and it fills you with excitement. You wish to see more of the waving sky and smile as the world shifts around you. The sun dips down, leaving the moon in its place, and the ocean above you twinkles with lights. Bioluminescent creatures filling the waves sparkle like stars in the night. And as the celestial orbs they replace, their glimmering shine waves you goodnight.

The world around you is fantasy and wonder, magic and mystery–

"–With sights only seen where the sky meets the earth, falling past the horizon."

She hears her son's snores and quietly stands from his bed. She snuggly tucks him in and picks up the blue whale discarded on the floor. The boy holds the soft plush, smushing his face against it.

And with a soft smile, she kisses his plump cheek and whispers goodnight.