Peering out her room window, Ella’s heart raced faster as she noticed a silver camaro parked at the left end of her building. In a few minutes, the calm that enveloped Main Street books apartment would be disrupted and all because of her. She felt a lump rise in her throat at that thought.
Ella grabbed a bubble gum, unwrapped and chewed on it in order to dissuade her attention from the drama she was about to unleash. But what did they expect? That she’d go quietly with a marriage that she was uncomfortable with?
Since the passage of her parents, Ella feared Nana thought she was a burden but never did she think Nana would dash her off without her consent. There was only two weeks left and…
The sound of a horn catapulted Ella from her thoughts. The time for her freedom had arrived. The question on her mind wasn’t should she? But rather, could she? Could she runaway, escape?
This is my Submission to Flash Fiction For Aspiring Writers. Word count: 162 words. To participate, just click on the link and it’ll take you there. 🙂
An interesting story that paints a picture of a decision that probably haunts many people ~ Well done
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Thank you! 😄 i’m glad i could communicate that to you with a few words.
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I loved your take on the prompt! I have never understood “arranged marriages”. (I hope she escapes). 🙂 Awesome job! Thank you for participating and I hope you continue. 🙂
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It was actually meant to depict forced marriage, haha, but they are similar :). I will try my best PJ. Went a little over 150, maybe next time it’ll be less 😀
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That’s okay Ameena. I said give or take 25 words so no problem. I wanted to give ya’ll plenty of leeway.
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I guess I thought of arranged marriages as forced.
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Oh, yeah a lot of people think so. I have met individuals who actually vie for arranged marriage. They ask their family members to help them seek a good spouse and then they meet a few times and get married willingly. After the first meet, the girl is asked if she wants to get married to the guy, if she keeps silent, then it means she doesn’t and another proposal is sought for.
But in forced marriages, even if the girl says no, it doesn’t matter, she is forced to get married anyway and most times the only option left is to run-away
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Oh Okay Ameena. I thought that they were mostly all forced, so that is understandable. Thank you for explaining to me.
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I hope Ella escapes. And i hope she finds a good deal. As your title suggests, the ‘going away’ may not not be so sweet after all. Quite interesting really.
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Now that you mentioned it, “going away” actually sounds better :D. So thank you 🙂
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Well.. You could carry On the story. Why so short ? It would have been interesting
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Haha, i know, i wish so too. But this is a flash fiction (150 word story) even though i went a little over and wrote 162 🙂
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Oh what I loved about this was the hook! You came out of the tunnel sprinting lol. And with flash fiction you have so little words to tell an entire story, you can’t waste any. The only thing in question was where this takes place, because I wasn’t sure if the grandmother had betrothed her to a man? I think in some cultures they still do that, but most modern day ones, I’m not sure. If that was your intention, maybe give a year or clarify the situation. Exciting! And good job!
I’d love some feedback as well if you have a chance: https://romancedonewrite.wordpress.com/2015/02/20/flashfictionfriday-vol-1-the-book-tour/
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thank you so much, will definitely check yours out! Ella lives with her grandmother in the apartment. And yes, forced marriages are still very much alive, sadly.
I tried to fit it all in 150 worda, and that was hard 😀
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Very well written and you took us on a journey with you. I like that you pose a question at the end as that draws us in expecting answers.
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Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed the journey 😊
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A very intriguing story and very well put together
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Thank you Cat, i’m glad you thought so of it. ☺
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