Sophie's Adventure

Released: 1st October 2003
Size: 525 KB
Reviews: 13 reviews to date
Genre: comedy fantasy

Introduction
The previous day…

"For my eighth birthday," said Sophie, "I want… I want…"

And there was the crux of the problem. She didn't know what she wanted. Everything really cool - her own space-plane, a rocket launcher with her name down one side, Sydney Opera House, her very own Harry Potter - was sure to be ignored just like the time she'd asked for a Spice Girl as a pet and she'd most likely end up with the usual things she got lumbered with on her birthday: dolls, nice clothes, crayons… If she wasn't training herself to be a proper lady one day she'd probably throw up at the idea of it all.

No, what she wanted was something different. Something unusual.

Something she had never had before…

"Just so long as you don't make a wish to be the new Harry Potter, you might just get what you want," Mother said.

So, her first wish denied, she made a wish for-

"An adventure," she said. "Like one I've never had before."

Mother sighed, put down the crayons she had been about to wrap into a present-like shape, sighed and said, "very well. An adventure you'll get." And then she gave the evil sort of laugh you only generally get from villains in old horror films. "One you'll never forget…"

When she awoke the next morning, Sophie didn't feel any different. Then again, she wasn't sure in which way she should have felt different - though being a few inches taller would have been nice and her hair changing from its usual tangled, uncombable mess to some nice blonde locks was something she'd been kind of hoping for.

But as she looked at herself in the mirror, she was depressed to find she looked exactly the same. It was amazing just how little difference ten hours sleep had made to her appearance.

She was also annoyed to note that she hadn't been woken this morning by the sound of her family singing "Happy Birthday" to her dressed as three different versions of Harry Potter as she'd requested. In fact, she hadn't been woken by her family singing "Happy Birthday" at all. Far off, she heard the sounds of her sister in the shower - somewhere she seemed to spend every waking moment these days - her father watching the TV and her mother… doing whatever it was she did all day. Cooking probably.

Just like my last birthday, she thought with a sigh.

Only on her last birthday there hadn't been frightening-looking storm clouds gathering on the horizon and a general feeling of menace in the air. Funny, she hadn't noticed any storm clouds when she'd checked the weather report yesterday - something she'd done because she was going to her friend's house later on and didn't want to get rained on.

As she watched the storm clouds, she couldn't help suppress a shudder at the way they seemed to be… watching her. Were those eyes she could see in the rolling clouds? And faces? And… claws?

No, obviously not. She must be imagining things. But even so…

"Time I went and got my presents," she decided.

Time indeed.