Cemetery Stroll

“You’ll know him when you see him,” I told my little sister as I gingerly pried one of the coffins open. “Hello?” I called in, the sound reverberating. 
“I think I’ve been dead since ‘98,” a voice called back. “It was the year the Maine sunk. Such a tragedy that one. And such a lovely boat, too.”
“He must be one of the old ones,” I said as I brought the lid down with a thud. “You can’t even smell anything."
"Hannah! Come over here!"
Encased in crystal, there he was, as pristine as the day I first met him.

This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: "I think I've been dead since '98." at the links below!

Brianne Dosch * Tiffany Jones * Kat!e Larson * Quinlyn Shaughnessy * Lady Violet

Wings to Fly

She closed her eyes and counted backwards, eight, seven, six, five . . . .

It never took the full eight seconds — counting was just a way to ignore the yelling around her. When she opened her eyes again, the hallway was filled with hundreds of butterflies, all nestled on the walls.

The ugliest words, the ones that hurt the most, were always the most beautiful, their lacy wings made from the patterns on her tear-stained face. As her breathing slowed, their wings started to flutter and they formed a multi colored cyclone, swirling and swirling until they vanished.

“No.”

She was back.

This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: "The hallway was filled with hundreds of butterflies, all nestling on the walls." at the links below!

Brianne Dosch * Tiffany Jones * Kat!e Larson * Quinlyn Shaughnessy * Lady Violet

Running Shoes

"Careful, they're crystal."
"And you're putting that on my feet?"
She glared at me. I backpedaled. "They're the loveliest things I've seen. Ever. But do you think it's necessary?"
"Listen, honey, you'll never dance with such grace as you will tonight. Otherwise it won't just be your dress that is in ruins after midnight." Her grin no longer looked reassuring and grandmotherly. 
I twirled gingerly, my ball gown billowing. "I'm really not that graceful."
"The prince is a shoe guy. This'll snag him."
That clinched it.
"No thank you." I handed her the shoes. "I'd rather be able to walk."

This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: "Careful with that, it's ..." at the links below!

Brianne Dosch * Tiffany Jones * Kat!e Larson * Quinlyn Shaughnessy * Lady Violet

Lover's Present

The night was darkening but Nebuchadnezzar could see the faint outline of his wife in the waning moon, her robes shining silver in the starlight.

She wandered up and down the steps, becoming a swirl of motion as she weaved in and out of the saplings.

“Someday those will be mighty tree, my queen,” he called out, and she laughed, then suddenly disappeared.

He leaped over the terrace railing and onto the ground below, running toward the fallen form as fast as he could. “Amytis!”

“It’s so beautiful.” She pulled him down among the flowers and kissed him. “Thank you.”

This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: "He leapt over the terrace railing and onto the ground below, running toward the fallen form as fast as he could." at the links below!

Brianne Dosch * Kat!e Larson * Quinlyn Shaughnessy * Lady Violet