The grass in the yard was always like a beautiful small mini meadow. Dad was meticulous in his maintenance of it keeping it cut at a height that he insisted was the “perfect” height. The colour was that rich green and aqua shade that people stopped to admire and comment on. What I loved most about his lawn obsession was the feel of it under my bare feet on hot summer days, a soft cool carpet of silky smooth blades. Magical.

The dew this morning glistened on the cylindrical stems. As I ran my eyes over the dewy surface I noticed small shapes where the dew seemed to have been trampled by tiny feet making their way across the surface, the feet of people to light to bend the stalks of grass. There was something else different this morning. In various spots throughout the yard there was what appeared to be small powdery circles and ovals of a creamy brown and white: mushrooms! Our yard had never had mushrooms growing in it before, but now overnight hundreds of them sprouted up through the lush grass.

Today the in the same manner that dad insisted on the perfect lawn height I insisted that elves had come to live in the yard!

By Shari Marshall – 2018

Written in response to The Daily Post’s one word prompt: Insist. Story idea taken from 101 Writing Prompts, number 85.