Sneak

The girl stared at the ceiling with bated breath, waiting for the noise outside to die down. It was pitch black; the darkness helping her concentrate on the most miniscule of sounds. When she was certain there was no one roaming about, she made her move. The girl quickly got out of bed, before carefully shifting the sheets to make it seem like she was still here. Light on her feet, she snuck out of the unlit room.

The door creaked softly as it slid open, and the girl tensed. Had anyone heard? The seconds seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Finally, she thought it safe to move again. The girl crept down the long hallway, hesitating at each step to make sure not a sound was made. The shadows swallowed up the passage. Some moonlight shone through a small window in the wall, but ultimately cowered beneath the inky umbra.

The girl slowly braved the dark, the source of light enough to navigate the landscape – but only because she had walked it a million times. Reaching the end of the first part of her journey, the girl almost walked right into a wall. She winced slightly, before her hand stretched out to feel her way towards the staircase. She found the railing, then gingerly put one foot out, looking for the first step. She cautiously began walking down the humongous staircase, towards a slightly stronger source of light.

Finally downstairs, the girl could see much better. The light was brighter here, though not by much, and filtered through a wider window. Thankful for the vision, she quickly made her way to her destination. The room was gigantic, with dozens of compartments and hidden drawers lurking about. However, the girl wasn’t distracted by any of this – she had her eyes on a jar, hidden away at the very top of the tallest cupboard.

Suddenly – and with the strength of a thousand monkeys – the girl took to climbing the enormous cabinet. With each reach of her hand, she could feel her strength dwindling, and her resolve growing. Heaving with the effort, she made it to the top. Sitting down, she reached out for the jar – one that she took so much trouble to attain. Using what was left of her strength, she pulled off the only thing keeping her from her reward: the top of the jar.

The little girl looked inside, her eyes widening as she saw the huge heap of chocolate chip cookies before her. Sticking her hand into the jar, she pulled out the three biggest cookies she could find, before immediately putting one in her mouth. She sat there for a few minutes, chewing happily, before starting to make her way back towards the ground. Going back to her room was easier, and the sweets gave her more energy.

Getting into bed again, she sighed dramatically, wiping her face onto the back of the hand (and on her pyjamas); settling in to get some well-deserved sleep… before she was woken up the next day by her mother, yelling at her about how she got chocolate all over the blanket and was probably going to get cavities if she started doing this every night.

Kairavi Deshpande