Erin Stimmler, Mini-Workshop

Time Out
By: Erin Stimmler
She knew this was going to happen, her mother had warned her.
"Write on that wall again young lady and I swear" she had her hands on her hips and her voice did a funny pinching thing, like when you almost want to yell but aren’t supposed to, and she would wag her finger in the pause, "You’re going to regret it!"
Sarah could not help herself, the chalk on the beautiful blank walls of her play room. It was all she could do to keep from writing, and drawing the most beautiful scenes.
When she heard the footsteps coming from down the hallway, she had frozen in place she was sure, but her mother was not supposed to come home for another hour. Sarah was supposed to have time to wipe it off, like before.
The next thing she remembered was the crash of the time out chair that her mother flipped in her direction, gliding to a stop immediately in front of the castle Sarah had so carefully created.
"Take a seat," her voice was a snarl, like the mean ladies in fairytales.
She sat.
"Stay," the word stung Sarah’s ears like a slap on the cheek. She didn’t look up, she covered her face with one hand, leaned against the wall, and steadied herself with the other.
Her eyes fell shut and she allowed herself to drift into the darkness, letting it take over what she was sure to be her last moments. There was no telling whether it was the hand covering her eyes or maybe it had been that long that the suns light no longer filled the room with its joy. She peaked from behind her fingers only long enough to see the strange room, black and white floor, leading to a wonderful inviting castle.