It was a dark and stormy night

Not a cloud in the sky, the saphire blue sky decieved the mind to the reality of dangerous conquests that lie waiting. The mother, the easiest to decieve, was starting the morning by standing in the gentle breeze watering the small garden. If she had been really listening, she would have heard the snarls and deep growls alerting her to the danger. Instead her ears were tuned to the inner thoughts of her mind as she planned a day equal to the beauty she saw in that cloudless sky.

Humming a little song, she turned and entered the small hut that used to be her home and safe haven. Little did she know that in the tiny amount of time that she was gone, the dark forces within had planned a trap to enslave her. As she crossed the threshold, the low growls became audible as the door slammed behind her; trapping her against her will. The darkness of The Plot crossed her spirit and she shivered in spite of herself. The first to reach her was one of the small creatures she had spent so many years tending in its more helpless moments. Although this small being approached her with a smile, its eyes twinkled with The Plot. The mother, still not understanding the full nature of The Plot, gently patted the small being on the head and offered it a small meal that was custom this time of day. Hearing the rattles and clinks of this custom, another small being appeared wearing the same smile and having the same intent as the first. The meal was placed on the table and when the final spoon was placed in front of the beings, it set in motion the first steps of The Plot.

The smiles of the beings quickly morphed into sneers as the meal was rejected and tossed into the floor. The mother, eager to appease these beings, gracefully selected another meal and laid it before them again. The sneers became howls as the meal was ejected again. Having heard rumors of these types of uprisings from the beings, a shudder passed through her as she quickly grabbed a cloth to begin removing the mess from the floor. She went to the closet to deposit the soiled cloths and discovered that The Plot had reached that dark corner of the hut as well. Soiled cloths had gathered, as if by their own will, and began to threaten to overtake the hut.

With the howls behind her and the danger of the cloths in front of her, the mother was for a moment torn between the battles. The darkness of The Plot now settled with a heaviness in the small hut, leaving no light of hope to escape. Her shoulders began to hunch forward with the weight of the darkness on them and her ears rang with the shrillness of the howls. It was then that she remembered the one source of Light that remained in the house. The Magic Glass was her only hope in succeeding through The Plot. The mother gathered the beings, who were kicking and screaming, and took them to The Magic Glass. The howls seemed to lessen as The Magic Glass began to show the beings images of The Light and projected merry tunes. The beings stood transfixed in The Light of The Magic Glass and for a moment The Plot’s darkness lifted around them.

The distraction gave the mother a few moments to decide on how to defeat The Cloths. No longer contained in baskets, The Cloths reached towards her. She stepped back as one of the foul smelling Cloths rubbed her fingertips, covering her with it’s stench. A faint snarl could be heard if one listened close enough. The mother knew that it was only a matter of seconds before The Plot gave The Cloths the power to overtake the hut. If she allowed this, it would take just a few more moments for The Cloths to band with the rogue DustBunnies and the beauty of her world would cease to exist.

She glanced behind her and saw that The Magic Glass still had the beings paralyzed in The Light, but their low mutterings showed that it was only a ripple in time before they were able to break free and resume their part in The Plot. Time being fragile, yet inflexible, she quickly began to fill The Tub of Tide with the magical, potent liquid that would subdue The Cloths. She bravely thrust her arms into the very heart of The Cloths intending to strong arm them in The Tub of Tide. She could feel their tiny fabric appendages grip her back and the odor filled her nose and mind. As she held what seemed to be the leader of The Cloths over The Tub of Tide, something grabbed her leg and pulled her backwards. The Rogue DustBunnies had been summoned to the aid of The Cloths.

With both arms still plunged in the heart of The Cloths, the Rogue DustBunnies used her precariously balanced position to quickly overtake her. Sensing the moment of defeat was near, the beings broke from the spell of The Magic Glass and banded with the Rogue Dustbunnies, grabbing the mother around the waist and pulling her from The Tub of Tide. The Cloths, seizing the opportunity, slithered up her arms and bound her from movement. Working swiftly against The Light, the creatures from The Plot dragged the mother to the lair of the Rogue Dustbunnies underneath the couch. There were no screams from the mother in her moment of defeat, just a silent sobbing of resignation.

All the creatures of The Plot began to dance in celebration of their victory. Their singing, wailing and growls overtook the small hut and if one were to listen very closely they would hear the tiny sounds of sobbing from under the couch.

…and that is what really happened, Dear. That’s why the housework was not complete when you got home from work.

Categories: children