My Baffling Brain

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy!  I've missed a few letters, but I'm determined to carry on nonetheless! Unrequited I clear my throat. It’s now or never. “Umm, Jasmine?” I call, and my voice breaks. She turns, her perfect blue eyes coming to rest on me, her blonde hair swishing like she’s in a shampoo commercial. “Hi,” she says. “Erm, sorry, I don’t know your name.” “It’s Jeremy,” I say, heat rushing to my face. “I just - I was wondering…” “Yes?” She looks politely bewildered. “Do you want to go out with me, sometime, maybe?” The words come out in such a rush I’m surprised she even understands them. “Oh, I’m sorry, erm, Jeremy. I’m just, pretty busy, what with work and everything…” Her words trail off. “Bye, Jeremy,” she says when I don’t reply. Months of planning, wasted.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Quake It starts off slow; tiny shakes, like someone is thundering up and down the stairs. A picture on the wall slips so it hangs lopsided. The tremors deepen, and the whole house begins to shake. Ornaments fly off shelves, the sound of glass smashing fills the house. We’re at the crescendo now, and it’s like the whole house is alive; furniture moves, doors open and close, cracks begin to form in the ceiling. And then silence. Is it over? No, there are still the aftershocks, though these pale in comparison to the real thing. A couple of surviving trinkets jump from their shelves, crashing onto the floor. Finally all is still, silent. I move through the house carefully, stepping over broken things, making my way back to the bedroom. Still you sleep, soft and warm in bed; no doubt you’ll be annoyed in the morning, when you find out you’ve missed another one.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Poison “I don’t think we should do this anymore.” “What do you mean?” “Us. This. I don’t think we should be together anymore.” She folded her arms and looked down at her feet. “Where is this coming from?” “It’s - nowhere -” “It’s him, isn’t it? What’s he been telling you this time?” “It’s nothing to do with him, it’s entirely my decision.” “Can’t you see he’s poisoned you against me? I can’t believe you’re letting him tear us apart!” “Maybe we were already poisoned. Maybe he just helped me to see it.” She turned and walked away, and didn’t look back.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Necropolis Necropolis. “City of the dead”. A pretty apt name, if you ask me. I wander through the city, taking in the familiar sights and sounds. I don’t make eye contact with any of the others here; we prefer to be alone. I stop in front of one of my favourites; a great stone angel, hands held up to the sky. I’ve always wished I had something like this over my grave; a protector, a guardian. All I’ve got is a tiny stone slab, but I’m lucky to have that. Some of the people here don’t have anything to mark the places where they are buried. I sit next to the angel. It’s up on a hill, so from here I can see the whole cemetery, and everyone in it. A woman walks in the front gate, making her way through the gravestones. She thinks she’s alone, but she’s surrounded. We’re everywhere.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Monster “Monster!” “Freak!” The voices come at me from all sides like knives, voices from former friends and family. “I hereby banish you from this village,” said a deep voice. “Take your abnormality somewhere else!” The men tightly clutching my arms throw me away from them, sending me sprawling onto the ground. “If you are seen here again, we shall show no mercy!” They turn away from me and begin the journey back through the forest, back to their beloved village. “Hey,” said a quiet voice, making me jump. “Who are you?” I asked. He walked into the clearing, followed by a few others. “Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you. We’re just like you.” He grinned, his fangs glinting in the moonlight.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Lucky Lucky. That’s what everyone says. That I was lucky. Is it luck? Sure, I survived. I was barely even injured, just a few grazes here and there. I still wouldn’t call it lucky. Is it lucky, that I wake up every night covered in sweat, remembering the details of that dreaded day? Is it lucky that every waking thought is haunted by those who didn’t survive? I see their faces everywhere; at work, at home, at the shopping centre. Wherever I go they’re there, following me, wondering why I survived when they didn’t, just waiting for the day they can claim me as one of them. I wouldn’t call this lucky. I would call it hell.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! King Next in line to the throne. I’d heard the phrase so often, I hadn’t really thought about what it meant. My whole life, I’ve been looking forward to it; being crowned, being the man in charge. Getting what I want, when I want it. Having an army of people at my beck and call, willing to do anything and everything for me. I was never going to abuse my power, of course. I was just looking forward to having it. But as it turns out, power has its downsides. The loneliness, for one. I’m rarely left alone, there’s always at least two guards following me around everywhere I go, and yet I can be surrounded by people and feel completely alone. You would think being the most powerful man in the kingdom would mean no shortage of company. It’s the opposite: I’ve never felt more alone in my life since becoming King.