She sleeps like a dead weight now beside me, lowered into the night, the ropes of the day swaying around her. We know nothing about each other really. She does not know how often my ex-lover visits me ... [+]
From a valley in Canada made by glaciers during the last ice age, Kilmeny MacMichael writes. Her favourite dinosaur is the triceratops. "Theofina Freezes" is in Short Circuit #07, Short Édition's quarterly review.
Theofina's class had won a contest. The contest was for a special trip. They were going to go back to the time of the dinosaurs! Theo was happy, excited, and worried. She wanted to be brave, but whenever there was trouble, she got afraid. And when Theo was afraid . . . she froze. Theo froze to the spot, and could not move or think. For example, when a mean dog got loose one day and came running at Theo and her friends, Theo froze. Her friend Leah had to drag her away, while her friend Connor threw stones and shouted. Theo felt ashamed. She wanted to be the hero, not the one who was rescued. "