litlinks 2021

Before the Dawn

by Lauren O’Daly, Daramalan College

The darkest hour of the night is right before dawn. All the lights are off and everyone is asleep. The stay-up-late-ers have finally gone to bed, and the get-up-early-ers haven’t gotten up yet. Miracles could happen, and no one would know.

Zoo animals could leave their enclosures and roam the streets. Trees could uproot themselves and dance to the music made by the wind as it plays with the birds, small bugs and fairies that have left their tree stump homes for the nightly festival, Before the Dawn.

…

Lizzie Wilson-Bourne was nine years, 364 days, 21 hours and 32 minutes old. It was 12:01 in the morning and she would turn ten in precisely 3 hours and 28 minutes, and she wanted to be awake for that.

Looking out her window at the night sky, Lizzie played join-the-dots with the stars. She’d made a cupcake and a heart before she saw the first flying light. To begin with, she thought it was a shooting star, but she was quite sure shooting stars didn’t laugh. Then the second streak of light flew past, closer this time. It spun and twirled through the air, trailing purple light.

More laughing as coloured lights passed her window. She watched in awe as they filled up the night with their dancing and playing. A pair of them stopped by Lizzie’s window. They were no bigger than her littlest toe, with tiny, pointed wings and glowing skin. Their delicate features were that of stunning girls, with slender limbs and wide eyes. They giggled and hugged before rejoining the parade of dazzling fairies.

Lizzie tried to track them as they bobbed and weaved with all the others, but she was distracted by the loud groan and crack that came from the front of her house.

Grabbing her pillow for protection, Lizzie ran barefoot down the hallway and out the front door just in time to see the large oak tree from her front yard walking down her street after the fairies, treehouse and all, soon followed by more cracks and creaks as almost all the other plants she could see dug themselves up.

Wide eyed, Lizzie followed. Hiding behind cars and remaining plants, she snuck after her treehouse.

At the end of the road, the fairies and plants gathered on the oval. From behind the only stationary tree she could find, Lizzie stared at the scene before her.

Animals ranging from domestic cats to elephants and giraffes mingled with the trees and fairies. A group of tulips from her neighbours’ garden walked past and birds of all sorts flew with the fairies. Some of the creatures danced, others sang, some just laughed and chattered.

All of a sudden, the ground beneath Lizzie started rumbling and groaning, moving beneath her, roiling and bucking until finally, the tree shielding her sprang from the ground and she fell forward with a shout.

The chatter stopped. Even the leaves turned to stare at her.

The best-kept secret of the animal kingdom was out.