Anne Meade and Susi Holliday, of the wonderful Yearning For Wonderland Blog, regularly host writing competitions for Flash Fiction Once Upon A Time. Here is my entry, at 350 exactly...
Three Simple Words
“I can't do this!”
Anna cried to herself, gazing at a picture of that young, handsome
man on her computer screen. Max. His perfect blue eyes, and shoulder
length blonde hair promised so much, as much as his tender words,
shared with her over countless phone calls and emails over the past
four months.
“You can, my
dear....” came a cheerful reply from behind her.
She turned her head to
see Rael, her imaginary friend since childhood, perched on the
windowsill with his arms folded as tightly as the black wings on his
back. His piercing green eyes seemed to burrow into her soul.
“He's going to say
those three simple words, I am certain!”
Anna shook her head
angrily, wrenching her gaze from that infuriating idiot. How could a
personification of her own inner-thoughts exude such confidence?
“But he hasn't seen
the real me, hasn't seen....” Her voice faltered, as she brushed
away a strand of brown hair to reveal a deep scar, trailing from the
left side of her forehead down to her cheek; her left eye made of
glass.
*
Rael's
words stuck in Anna's head as she hurried through the busy town to
meet Max for the first time. Her stomach was doing somersaults. How
could Rael be so certain of Max's reaction? He was a guy. Guy's went
for looks. She'd been bullied all her life because of the scarring,
nobody had looked at her twice. Why should that change now? Because
she'd told him her life story?
She found
him, leaning against a wall outside a coffee shop, his eyes as blue
as the sky. Her blood ran cold, and she wanted to turn and run, but
too late. He'd seen her. He was already standing before her. His
gaze already lingering on that badly-hidden scar.
Okay,
she thought, blushing severely, let
me down gently...
Then Max's eyes met hers, he smiled a big, broad smile. Then he
leaned forward, whispered tenderly into her ear...
“You are beautiful....”
The three simple words she had always wanted to hear.
*
Length: 350 words
Details: yearningforwonderland.blogspot.com & www.sjiholliday.com
Timetable: Contest open from April 4 till midnight, April 29th
Twitter: @ruanna3 & @sjiholliday & #ouatwriting
This is lovely! Well done! A really beautiful story. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd THIS is beautiful! What a lovely romantic story :-)
ReplyDeleteThank You Ladies, very lovely comments. Much appreciated! :)
ReplyDeleteLovely and not at all what I expected.
ReplyDeleteThank You Jean =)
ReplyDeleteBut... but... where's the evil? ;)
ReplyDeleteWow! This is great! Really unusual and perfect for this comp - thanks for entering! :)
ReplyDeleteThank You very much ^_^ Yay! And Mike, I thought I'd have a day off...just this once ;)
ReplyDeleteOh Cory, I'm sorry that I haven't read your writing previously. This story is unique,beautiful and well written! Really really enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteThank You so much Jo-Anne ^_^ I appreciate that =)
ReplyDeleteDrum roll please. Why am I not even surprised everyone loves it? Because you are such a wonderful writer! Wonderful story Cory! Now, if you could send me the long version, where I see what happens after, I would be very grateful :) :p
ReplyDeleteBx
Oh B, thank you so much! You're so lovely. Thank you! The longer version has an entirely different character with different issues, but she still has an imaginary friend and no confidence...I will send the longer version along...when I write it! :P
ReplyDeleteWell done! A double fairy tale, in a sense...though I detect a bit more evil lurking behind the sweet words? :)
ReplyDeletewhat a fantastic. Piece of writing! Simply love it
ReplyDeleteLadies, thank you very much! ^_^ Brightened up my Monday even more! And Angela...who knows what is lurking beneath the surface? :)
ReplyDeleteLove your writing style, simple yet evocative. I could picture her sitting there looking at the computer. And yay, a happy ending - certainly unexpected :)
ReplyDeleteThank You Dionne ^_^ Lovely comment!
ReplyDeleteI really love this story and I think I might be a little bit in lust with Max.
ReplyDeleteWow...Thank You very much Laura ^_^
ReplyDeleteAw! This is the kind of story that makes my heart go flipity flopity! Love it. But why do I get the impression Max might be up to no good? hm...
ReplyDeleteHmm - trades' descriptions young man - I was expecting gore! But when not an otter I'm a Black Shaman so I fell in love with Rael a bit, always a sucker for black wings. Love the fact that you Tell A Story and don't faff about with words - it's good!
ReplyDeleteThank You Cameron! ^_^ Much appreciated! And I'm not always this warm and fuzzy, you know ;)
ReplyDeleteI loved Rael and the way your writing played with our insecurities, I hope Max is true to his words...and I love a happy ending! Lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank You very much Lisa =) And happy ending's don't come along often, so when they do, they must be savoured!
ReplyDeleteIt pleases me how unexpectedly romantic this is ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for entering!
Thank You very very much! ^_^
ReplyDeleteLovely story with an unexpected ending!
ReplyDeleteAwwww what a lovely ending!
ReplyDeleteMy entry's heroine was considerably less lucky with the boys, but I'm sure her luck can change...
Thank You ladies ^_^ Just read your story Jo. Wonderfully witty =)
ReplyDeleteThis was so sweet!! Beautiful ending too... Lovely way to start off my morning. :)
ReplyDeleteAwww thank you very much ^_^ How lovely!
ReplyDeleteI fear the word beautiful is a little over-used here so I will say that I adore your piece! Well done!
ReplyDeleteThere was me, sure the three words were I love you!! love it, and really like the idea of Max! Great, simple imagery. Well worth being the Fan Fav!
ReplyDeleteThank so much Miranda! And at one point, he was going to say 'I Love You', but considering her facial scarring, 'You look beautiful' felt more appropriate. Maybe he'll say those other three words in another tale...
ReplyDelete