The Ink Well Prompt
Prompt Word: Elephant
Ada Wellington snuck up the stairs through her bedroom door with a small glass apothecary bottle and linen rag in one hand. She shut the door slowly with the other hand, while twisting the brass lion head door knob in an attempt to avoid the clack of the door shutting. Everyone else was asleep, except the crickets and cicadas chirping outside among the fully bloomed forsythia and weeping willows in front of the house.
She became hot and frustrated trying to undo the tie on the back of her bodice, so she let out an exasperated sigh and rushed over to open the window; then the other window near the bed. A cool breeze flowed into the room as she turned her back and walked calmly back toward the bedside table; her hands finally undoing the stubborn knot. The clink of the glass stopper coming out of the small bottle of vinegar and the burbling sound it made as it was tipped over and dabbed onto the linen cloth was heard so distinctly during the stillness of the night. Ada held out her right hand and examined the scrape on her palm. As she dabbed the vinegar onto the wound, she wondered how will I cover this up?
She took out a piece of paper that was folded up inside her bodice and slid it under an ivory hand paper weight; it’s dainty fingers surrounded by flowers, looking like it wanted to snatch the note. You’re the only one who will get your hands on this note she thought to herself toward the paper weight. I'll have to burn it tomorrow. Coincidently, this note was the reason she’d scraped her own hand on the rose thorns among the wrought iron fence at Lilian’s party. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the uttermost irony of the night.
One would think Ada’s mind would see the ivory paper weight and lead her to remember the Elephant candle holder in the other corner of the room. After all, it was made of the finest ivory from elephants in India. It sat, burning a small candle since before she left for the party that day.
“It’s a lucky elephant,” she remembered her aunt saying as she handed her the gift from her trip. But not so lucky for the elephant, right?
Instead, Ada’s mind went back to the scrape on her hand because she needed to come up with a reason for it, and the pain was starting to come through as the vinegar soaked into the wound and her intoxication was beginning to wear off. She opened the drawer and twisted off the cap of an intricately engraved sterling flask, taking a sip of brandy and putting the flask back in the drawer.
After changing into her nightgown, she lay in bed staring up at the rosewood ceiling tiles; her eyes tracing the four corner shapes that came together creating a new shape in the middle. An unusual gust of wind outside caused the curtains on her bed crown canopy to softly sway. The same gust came through the other open window, blowing the candle flame on the Lucky Elephant abruptly to its side; almost blowing it out. Then it came back up, and continued to gently flicker among a pool of melted white wax. Ada was oblivious to this, since her view was blocked by the broad two-door armoire standing against the wall between the two windows; one of its elaborately whittled walnut doors left open.
If this were truly a lucky Elephant, we all know the flame would be blown out by the wind and Ada would continue her drunken slumber through the night. But, was it really lucky considering it came from an animal who was slain for being in the wrong place at the wrong time?
As Ada contemplated the risque events that took place that evening, her eyes grew heavy and she drifted off to sleep. Mother nature carried on with her unusually windy Spring night, sending gusts through the windows occasionally.
Finally, a gust of wind came through that blew the tassel from the empire curtain tie over to the right; just grazing the flame of the candle. The fine thread ends of the tassel were a perfect kindling. They quickly set ablaze and burned to a crisp as the fire latched on and made it’s way up the tassel. It soon caught onto the adjoining curtains and the smell of smoke expanded throughout the room.
Ada woke to the smell of smoke and the curtains enveloped in flames. She made it out the room to wake up her family members so they could evacuate. The next day, after the fire had been put out, she went to visit her half-burnt room. The luxury jacquard curtains were now singed most of the way; the nearby table and chair mostly carbonized. One side of the armoire was completely charred. That side of the room was dark and gloomy except one thing that lay on the ground: the ivory lucky elephant. Since ivory doesn’t burn, the cursed possession would live on to impose havoc on generations to come. As for the note, it wasn't burned in the fire and Ada had to find a different way to destroy it. She told people she cut her hand attempting to climb out the window during the fire.
