The Magic Matches

(You come across a pack of matches that sets off a series of uncanny events. Start your story with “My mother always told me not to play with fire.” End it with “And that’s how I ended up in the middle of nowhere—naked.”)

My mom always told me to never play with fire. But when I found a box of matches in the snow on the way to school, I picked it up. I looked around first to make sure my little brother wasn’t in eyesight – he’d tell on me without hesitation. Seeing that I was alone, I opened the box of matches.  With the smell of rotten eggs, a spark flew out of the box of matches, landed on the ground, and burst open into a portal with a loud bang.

I jumped through, and came out the other side with a sound like a deflating balloon. I fell out onto a snowy slope. I stood up and brushed off the snow. Suddenly I heard a roar. My head jerked up, just in time to see and avoid a blast of fire. I had landed right in front of a dragon’s cave! The dragon roared again and belched flame, lighting my coat on fire. I ripped it off and ran into the portal again. Even school was better than being eaten.

But the portal didn’t take me home. I landed in an alley full of giant rats, staring at me with red hungry eyes. A brave little rat jumped on my leg and started gnawing at my jeans. I noticed that there was a small group of goblins in the back of the alley, and they looked hungry too.  I got really scared and ran back into the portal, slapping the rat off my jeans just before I jumped through the rift.

And that is how I appeared in the middle of nowhere, naked.