Fairy Ring Flash Fiction Contest: A Norse Lullaby

A Norse Lullaby

The first time I met Thor, I was drugged up to my ears on allergy medicine, and wired rather than tired. My eyes ached, dry and scratchy, and instead of sleeping off the itch in my throat, I stared at the ceiling and cursed the entire state and all its flora and fauna. The Chinese elms especially.

So when the springs creaked and the mattress tilted, I wasn’t exactly in my right mind. I just assumed it was one of the cats. A couple of them were pretty big, after all, so I threw my arm across my face and groaned.

“Please,” I said, mostly to myself. “I just want to sleep.”

Thor chuckled. Thundergods are fond of chuckling. Hearty, deep stomach laughter that makes you smile along with them. I cracked open one of my eyes, lifting my arm up to look at him. He was much, much larger than a cat, to say the least, and sitting on the edge of the bed, blue eyes sparkling with amusement at my expense. It was at that point I started having serious concerns about the bed frame supporting our weight.

He stroked my hair, his huge, calloused hand causing the roots to tingle. “I’ll sing you to sleep,” he promised. “Just close your eyes.”

I knew him, of course, so I didn’t argue. Thundergods are hard to mistake, even if you’ve never met before.

I closed my eyes and thunder rolled, the patter of rain against the window with it. My eyes flew back open, and I laughed. “You call that singing?”

But I was already half-asleep before he answered, and in the morning, he was gone. Thundergods always come back, though, once you learn to ask.

Needless to say, I never had trouble sleeping again.

Endir

Other entries can be found on Anna Meade's blog, Yearning for Wonderland. 300 words is not a lot to work with, that's for sure, but it's an interesting challenge. The contest runs until the February 20th, so head over to Anna's blog for the details!