La Rondine (The Swallow)

• Bella Kent, Grade 3, Covenant College
• Short Story
• 2011

Finalist in the 'Honoured Writers of 2011' competition

The blue swing swayed gently in the breeze as the girl swung softly on it, her long dress sailing out behind her. She dreamed she was a swallow flying out beyond her world of darkness. “Time for dinner my little Rondine,” her mother called. Then the day-dream vanished and she was back in her world of war, pain and death. She felt small and useless against the world. As she walked inside she wished she was a Rondine again and could fly right out of this world.

The next morning she was trying to dream the same day-dream as yesterday. But alas she could not; she could not get out of her head the thoughts of trouble about this fearful world.

Her mother had made her a beautiful brown dress for her birthday. “Now you look like a little Rondine. You can change the world, just look right into your imagination and believe,” she said. And that is just what she did. On the swing with the long brown dress, she slipped into her imagination and the war, pain and death stopped. And from that day on she was known as La Rondine.