A few months ago I entered an online competition to win a limited edition of The Arabian Nights. Not sure why - it seemed like a good idea at the time. In typical fashion, I managed to completely mess it up by submitting a hundred-word story. The eventual winner of the thousand-word story competition was far better than my meagre effort. Nevertheless, I rather enjoyed the experience and I reproduce the text here for your derision:

Lying, with the warm sand like a blanket, she stared at the night sky and the landscape of stars beneath her. Brief, fiery comets rushed past and she could feel their heat upon her face. Her eyes darted from cluster to cluster, points of light like grains on the dark sides of the tents. Calls echoed in the darkness but grew faint as the eons passed. Memory lost out to new wonders. Endless change and movement took her on a dance that showed her colours and patterns beyond perception, beyond life. Her hands gripped the sand and she held a universe.