The Luck of the Drawer - Short Story by Margaret Wilde

The Luck of the Drawer

She was placed into a drawer and the drawer was closed. She fell asleep and woke because of a nightmare in which she was placed into a drawer and the drawer closed.

Apart from the feeling of suffocation itself, she also was suffering from claustrophobia. - She explored with her hands. She did remember quite well the structure of a chest of drawers and had made one once for her doll, using empty matchboxes and tiny buttons for the handles. But she was sideways, the only way that she would fit the space. It was very difficult to push sideways towards the back of the chest. She succeeded in getting splinters into her fingertips, but not in opening the drawer.

She shouted for assistance but the sounds were muffled of course and were easy to ignore.

They freed her in the morning.

When they lifted her to put her to bed in the drawer again the next night she fought. She screamed and kicked and punched. Such were the energy and persistence she demonstrated that she won the ‘battle’. They put her to sleep on the sofa instead.

She had learned an invaluable lesson very early in life. Namely, that it is a great deal easier to avoid being shut up in a drawer than it is to escape from it later.

Margaret Wilde © 2010