Sunday 15 April 2012

Flash Fiction - 'Once Upon A Time' Writing Contest - 'Three Simple Words'


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.

 *

Theme: Unexpected Fairy Tales
Length: 350 words
Details: yearningforwonderland.blogspot.com & www.sjiholliday.com
Timetable: Contest open from April 4 till midnight, April 29th
Twitter: @ruanna3 & @sjiholliday & #ouatwriting

34 comments:

  1. This is lovely! Well done! A really beautiful story. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. And THIS is beautiful! What a lovely romantic story :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank You Ladies, very lovely comments. Much appreciated! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely and not at all what I expected.

    ReplyDelete
  5. But... but... where's the evil? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow! This is great! Really unusual and perfect for this comp - thanks for entering! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank You very much ^_^ Yay! And Mike, I thought I'd have a day off...just this once ;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh Cory, I'm sorry that I haven't read your writing previously. This story is unique,beautiful and well written! Really really enjoyed it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank You so much Jo-Anne ^_^ I appreciate that =)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Drum 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
    Bx

    ReplyDelete
  11. 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

    ReplyDelete
  12. Well done! A double fairy tale, in a sense...though I detect a bit more evil lurking behind the sweet words? :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. what a fantastic. Piece of writing! Simply love it

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ladies, thank you very much! ^_^ Brightened up my Monday even more! And Angela...who knows what is lurking beneath the surface? :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love your writing style, simple yet evocative. I could picture her sitting there looking at the computer. And yay, a happy ending - certainly unexpected :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank You Dionne ^_^ Lovely comment!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I really love this story and I think I might be a little bit in lust with Max.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow...Thank You very much Laura ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  19. Aw! 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...

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hmm - 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!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thank You Cameron! ^_^ Much appreciated! And I'm not always this warm and fuzzy, you know ;)

    ReplyDelete
  22. I 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.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thank You very much Lisa =) And happy ending's don't come along often, so when they do, they must be savoured!

    ReplyDelete
  24. It pleases me how unexpectedly romantic this is ;)

    Thanks for entering!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Lovely story with an unexpected ending!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Awwww what a lovely ending!

    My entry's heroine was considerably less lucky with the boys, but I'm sure her luck can change...

    ReplyDelete
  27. Thank You ladies ^_^ Just read your story Jo. Wonderfully witty =)

    ReplyDelete
  28. This was so sweet!! Beautiful ending too... Lovely way to start off my morning. :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Awww thank you very much ^_^ How lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I fear the word beautiful is a little over-used here so I will say that I adore your piece! Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  31. There 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!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Thank 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