Here is the Microfiction assignment:
Given the character of a clown, write a story in the contemporary fiction genre, using the subject a fairy tale and the theme man versus nature. If you feel extra creative, write only one sentence at a time.
Your word limit is 160 words.
And here is my response, below:
Once upon a time, I met this clown at a children’s party. He had a large, red painted smile, slashed across his face. But his eyes were too sad.
His routine was predictable; balloons twisted into animal shapes, tricks with coloured handkerchiefs and flowers that spray water. The kids laughed and clapped in the right places.
At the end of the party, while we waited for the tired children to be collected, I asked him why he did this work.
“I was always a miserable child,” he sniffed and continued.
“I was lucky to have a fairy godmother who granted wishes. I wished I could be happy. Unfortunately, my godmother said that wasn’t possible.”
He dabbed his sad eyes with a blue hanky.
“But she said she could make me look happy, if that was what I wanted.”
A tear rolled down his painted cheek.
“It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
Ruth Livingstone 