Gifts

Gifts
by Lester D. Crawford

The rotund gentleman dressed in red exited the fireplace.

He screamed.

Before him stood a dragon, its eyes glowing and teeth glistening.

Catching his breath, he said, “1998.”

Turning, he encountered a snarling dragon.

He gasped and said, “2003.”

Sidestepping, he faced another dragon, its gaping jaws reaching for his head.

“1986.”

Dodging dragon after dragon, he finally reached the center of the room.

Under the tree, he placed a gift.

Ready to ascend the chimney, he glanced around the room of dragon sculptures and sighed.

He said, “Every year, he asks for the same thing. This guy is weird.”

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I wrote this story for the Advent Ghosts 2013 Flash Fiction event organized by Loren Eaton of the I Saw Lightning Fall blog.

Every story in Advent Ghosts must be exactly 100 words in length.

Advent Ghosts seeks to recreate the classic British tradition of swapping spooky stories at Yuletide. This is the fifth year for the storytelling festival.

To see more stories, visit Advent Ghosts 2013: The Stories.