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
