Flash Fiction: Snapped

Miss Blanche was an OCD, pattern obsessed lovely neighbor. Each day, she got out at a certain time, washed, cleaned, shopped and my favorite- painted in the middle of her picturesque garden which I, as the only neighborhood kid then, was given the honor of an open invitation at all times.

She’d stand in her garden, wearing a pink top and black pant and work the magic of her paint brush onto the board. She didn’t talk much, which suited me fine because all my attention was on her work of art which always turned out spectacular. That was our life until twelve years back.

I awoke one morning to find a yellow tape around Miss blanche’s house. She had been charged with first degree murder of her husband, following 62 stab wounds in their living room. I didn’t believe it until she pled guilty in court. That day I learnt something about humans, for a darling like Miss Blanche to snap, Lord only knows what goes on in married homes.

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word count: 170. This post is in response to flash fiction for aspiring writers photo prompt challenge. This week’s photo prompt was provided by Graham Lawrenece, Thank you! If you would like to participate or read other flash fiction stories, just click on the link above.

AGOS: Life without Summer

Here’s the 3rd part to A Glimpse Of Summer (AGOS). The 1st and 2nd parts are linked. For this part I used pure narrative with minimal dialogue and descriptions. Although I apologize for the lack of descriptions, it’s been a tough week (no excuses still), so I promise to be back in full gear for the next part.

The day summer left, everything changed. The weather forecast could have been windy with a turbulent storm approaching because that was the atmosphere when the news broke out. Life was never the same for either one of us. I thought I had it bad, but seeing Sam break down when I told him- it crushed me. For a moment there, I was glad summer wasn’t around to see him in that state.

We never talked about it- I and Sam, about why Summer left. I was scared of the question and he, the answer. I think Sam knew he was the reason for Summer’s leaving. It was just too coincidental that when he got married she decided to go AWOL. In a way, I was relieved he never brought the topic up.

Each day, I awoke to check the mailbox, hoping against hope I’d see a message from Summer. Days, months passed by and all I got- nothing. With Sam, the question was the same.
“Any news from Summer”, he’d ask

“Not yet”

“Maybe tomorrow”, he’d reply reassuringly

“Maybe”, I’d answer back with a lot of doubt.

A Glimpse Of Summer 2

Here’s the second part of my fiction piece ‘a glimpse of Summer’. You can read the part 1 here. Hope you enjoy it, I tried to make sure it wasn’t too long.

The wedding day came and my God, it was perfect. Summer was a perfectionist and even though I knew that, the sight of the hall still amazed me.

Emerald green and gold curtains draped the formerly bare white walls; the floor was littered with cream and and rose flower petals. Each table had a centerpiece filled with wild roses and two scented candles on each side. But my favorite was the three tiered cake that stood on one side of the royal couple’s chair.

The bottom layer of the cake was decorated with green frizzy petals made from icing. The middle layer was plain gold and the top layer- it was emerald green with mini doves and butterflies scattered on the sides.

As both I and Summer Walked through the hall, inspecting it for the last time before the time for the I do’s arrived, she spoke. Reaffirming what she had told me previously which I brushed off.

“I’m leaving” she blurted, without as much as a glance at me. Her gaze was directed towards the floor.

It wasn’t the first time I was hearing it, but there was something in the tone of her voice when she said it; it was said with determination. I had known Summer all my life and I knew when she meant her speeches; and that time, she did.

Part 1: A Glimpse Of Summer

                     Twitter guy- that’s what she liked to call him.
Summer and Twitter guy first had contact in April through a surprising source, poetry blog. I know! They clicked over poetry. Exchange of Twitter Ids took place soon, and in a short while they were tight twitter buddies. The beauty about their relationship or rather friendship was that, right from the start- it was nothing romantic. It was, as they say, purely a poetic instinct that led them to such a budding friendship.

Summer and Samuel became such tight friends that I, as Her female best friend had to constantly remind them that I am still in the picture.
Now that you’ve heard about me, my name is Kit, I am summer’s best friend and this is my version of their story:-

Sam was a perfect gentleman though a little bit of a dreamer and summer was an all out rock star with a huge savings account; all thanks to a dead aunt. Complete opposites that surprisingly clicked. Sam meant the second best thing to Summer, well of course the first is moi!

They were each other’s rock through the roller coaster called college and the travails that came with it. Most of which were unexpected. Sam was the one who broke the news to summer that summer’s mum had stage IV cancer. Summer’s mum knew the news would break summer and so couldn’t bring herself to tell her; Sam ended up being the messenger. And together, we stuck to her through what was the worst phase of her life- summer’s mum didn’t survive long after the diagnosis.

As Sam was also an orphan, when he finally decided to get engaged to his long time girlfriend, Julie. Summer went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect, exactly the way his mother would have wanted it to be. Another thing they had in common- Sentiments to motherhood.

Summer was a shell, hard on the outside yet fragile within. But Sam, he was one of those guys that kind of let things roll off their backs; he didn’t take minor details too seriously. And that, was his biggest mistake.

College over- sam’s wedding was drawing near and summer was, as always, doing her ultimate to make the event a blast and at the same time driving me nuts with wedding details. She was the one to stand beside Sam as his best man after a lot of persuasion from him. Summer was basically motherzilla but deep down, i knew she was breaking, one piece at a time. I didn’t know for how long she could endure.

Summer realized she was in love with Sam – I don’t know what happened, or what snapped to made her finally understand the feeling but she did. This was before the planning had taken much shape. I told her it wasn’t too late but there was something she said that made me rethink:
” have you seen the way they look at each other, even when no one’s watching”
“Would you want to be the cause for the end of such happiness”.

I knew I wouldn’t and neither would she- Selflessness was our damn.

This is the first part of a short fiction series I’m writing. I hope you like it. Comments and feedback  are highly appreciated. Stay tuned for part two 😉

Anna: The Little girl’s Finale

“Is the ambulance here yet? I don’t think she’ll make it”,

“Not yet, but almost.” The other patrolman replied

It was a starless night, and the moon was merely a crescent; making it hard for the two patrolmen. They had found the remains of a car, unrecognizably wrecked at the foot of an Oak tree when they had come through the route on their night road watch. But it was the sight of a little girl lying unconscious at the back of the car that got their blood boiling. As for the woman at the driver’s seat, seeing the large amount of blood she lost, they were doubtful she’d make it.

The ambulance came through and the victims were taken to the emergency unit. Anna, the little girl sustained minor injuries from the crash; she regained consciousness in a few hours of their hospital stay. Leila, her captor, on the other hand suffered a severe trauma in the head and had fallen into coma.

“I want to see my mommy!”

“I want my daddy!” Anna screamed.

One of the patrolmen came in to meet Anna; Trying to explain in the best possible way he could to a six year old that her mother was in coma.

“She’s not my mother. I want my mommy and daddy!” Now the policeman was stunned. He was almost sure Anna was still in shock. But she kept on and on about Leila not being her mother.

The other policemen who was older and had kids of his own took charge.
“So, your name is Anna”… she nodded.

“And you say your mommy is not your real mother”… She nodded again, wiping her tear streaked cheek.

Anna explained to him that she hadn’t seen her parents in two years. She’d been living with Leila all those time and it had not been good. She showed him the bruises on her wrist to support her story. The patrolman was inclined to disbelieve her but there was something in the little girl’s pleading eyes.

                                          *FAST FORWARD*

The man couldn’t believe his ears- His little girl was alive. As he made his way through the hospital halls, he was happy but at the same time terrified. What if she doesn’t recognize me? Beads of sweat had begun to form on his forehead.

“Daddy?”… “Daddy!”

Tears streamed down his cheeks, he made no attempt to stop them. In his arms was his lost girl, as real as the sun, after two long years.

“Daddy I missed you. And I prayed everyday like you taught me to.”

He held her oh so tightly, making a solemn promise to himself never to let her go, ever! A few minutes passed by and Anna and her father still hadn’t bulged from their spot- They truly had missed one another. Eventually, he sat Anna back on the hospital bed, walked out of the room with her eyes still on him and came back hand in hand with a woman.

“Mommy!” Anna rejoiced. Before she could jump down from the hospital bed, her ‘real mommy’ caught her and hugged her. Anna’s mother knew it wasn’t over. Her baby was going to need therapy and a whole lot of love. But looking at Anna’s gleaming face, she knew in that little girl was a fighter and together as a family, they’ll make it.

“Now this is my real mommy” Anna said “Not that other woman”, she was directing the statement at the patrolman that didn’t believe her. He smiled, and they all laughed. Everything was going to be all right.

After Anna had told the patrolman her story, he had called someone at the district to crosscheck her story with previous records. It came out true. The men who had gone to take away the wrecked car had found some personal items belonging to Leila. After few phone calls, Leila’s real mother was finally contacted and eventually the whole story unraveled. Leila was suffering from schizo-affective disorder and Bipolar 2.

As Anna and her parents walked down the green hospital halls with the older patrol man at their side, they caught glance of an Old woman whom the other patrolman was talking to. Her cheeks were wet from tears; you could hear her little sniffles from across the hall. What caught Anna’s parent eyes was what she was holding. In the old woman’s hand was a red sweater. The same red sweater they had seen at the park; that was when they realized it was the same old woman.

The patrolman standing beside who saw where their glance was directed at explained to them. The old woman had come to confirm that Leila, Anna’s captor was her daughter. Leila had told the old woman that she adopted Anna and was going to bring her for a visit when the accident happened.

After seeing how slim and pale his little girl looked, Anna’s father had no sympathy for Leila. In fact, he couldn’t wait for the trial to begin. But the sight of the old woman with the sweater in her hand broke him a little. They had found their daughter but the old woman was losing hers; the sad cycle of life.

In case you missed the first two parts, here they are: Part 1 and Part 2

Day 13: Anna, The Little Girl

“And they think I’m crazy, but I’m not”, Leila thought aloud.

“Do you think mama’s crazy?” she turned to the little girl curled up on the bed. “huh”

The little girl shook her head, she was still playing unhindered, with her doll.

“That’s my baby”, Leila lovingly patted the little girl’s hair.

“Today, we’re going to see grandma, and I hear she’s making you a lovely sweater”. Anna, the little girl, looked up. She loved sweaters especially red ones.

“Is it red?” She asked, her eyes lightening up.

“Yes baby, it is. Now go get ready before we meet grandma”.

Leila was a bit apprehensive. After two years, she was finally going to visit her mother. But that wasn’t what bothered her. It was the thought of someone recognizing Anna as the girl that got missing two years back. She tried to shove the thought at the back of her mind.
“its been two years, the story must have died down by now”, she reassured herself. “Anyway, Anna’s changed, I doubt if even her parents would recognize her now”.

That was true, Anna had changed. She had grown a little taller and slimmer in those two years. Her hair was now a shade of burgundy red, which was a far cry from its original crimson brown- Thanks to hair dye. She laughed at that the thought of Anna’s parent, remembering the first time she saw them. It was still all too clear. Leila had saved Anna from what she believed to be a disastrous life. A life filled with money, little love and fights.

That afternoon 2 years ago, when Leila first caught a glimpse of Anna on her way back from the hospital, something clicked in her, she felt a connection with Anna. And then, seeing the couple argue and bicker with the situation taking a turn for the worse and little Anna trudging slowly behind, Leila felt she had to save her. And save her she did.

Leila opened her drug cabinet, and then, she decided against it.
“If I was crazy, as they say, will I be able to take care of a girl for two years”. She put back the pills into the cabinet.

“I’m going drug free to mama today.”

ANNA:
Anna knew Leila wasn’t her mother. But she also learnt a long time ago what happens when you go against leila’s statement. She was now 6 and hadn’t seen her parents for two years. She didn’t think she ever will. The first few months were the worst. She kicked and cried and threw tantrums asking for her parents. As it turned out, Leila hated tantrums and she made sure Anna knew that with some few harsh words and smacks.

After a while, Four year old Anna adjusted into the role of Leila’s daughter. She even started calling her Ma- that pleased Leila. Her little girl instinct realized that when Leila was happy, then she was safe. And that was it, Anna became the daughter Leila had always wanted.

“Anna, are you ready?”, Leila called out. Anna was ever so ready. She was tired of always being indoors.

“Yes ma”, Anna replied.

As they got into the car, Leila could feel her heart racing. Her head felt a bit woozy and her pulse was rapid.

“I should have taken the pills”, Leila murmured. And with that thought, she pressed the ignition and took off.

Want to know how it ends, and What happens to Anna? Then Part 3 is on its way. if you haven’t read the first part, its: here

Day 9: Unknowingly Intertwined

A man and a woman walk through the park together, holding hands. They pass an old woman sitting on a bench. The old woman is knitting a small, red sweater. The man begins to cry. Write the scene from three different points of view: from the perspective of the man, then the woman, and finally the old woman.

The Man couldn’t believe his eyes. In the hands of an old woman was a red sweater that looked exactly like his little girl’s own. In the split of a second, his eyes randomly searched around. His heart was racing, he was wishing, hoping, maybe his little girl was somewhere around. Tears welled up in his eyes as it dawned on him; his little girl had been gone for two years now. And today was her birthday, is her birthday, he corrected himself. Red is her favorite color. And for a second there, he smiled at the memory of his little girl; donning her favorite red wool sweater, asking him
“Daddy, how do I look?”
How he wished he had paid more attention to her. He took another glance at the old woman knitting, he couldn’t hold it together anymore. The floodgate was open.

The Woman‘s grip tightened, he didn’t notice. The sight of an old woman with a red sweater in her hands brought back all those memories. She felt a lump in her throat but held herself together. She had to, for him. She had gifted his daughter a similar red sweater which she was wearing, the day she got missing. Everything changed that day. It’s been two years, she knew his wounds were still fresh. But she loved his little girl like her own.
And today of all days, she felt anger towards the old woman. In a second of ill-thinking, she cast a furious glare at the woman silently knitting. What am I doing? She snapped herself out of it and redirected her emotions. He needs me, that’s all that matters. She made out for his hands and held onto them, tightly.

The old woman didn’t realize the couple nearing towards her. She was happily drifting away as she completed the final touches of the wool sweater. I hope it looks perfect. She raised her head to see if there was anyone around she could ask; she noticed the couple. Before she could mumble out her request, a sniffling sound came to her ears. It was from the man, she decided to hold her tongue. A cold glare caught her stare. She lowered her head and went about her knitting. There was something familiar in the man, a resemblance. To whom? I’m getting old, she thought to herself, oh well. Her daughter was bringing the little girl around today, the one she said she’d adopted. Finally after two years, but at least she’d get to see her now. I hope she likes the sweater, i made it exactly like the one in her picture. And with that, the old woman went on inspecting the sweater, forgetting all about the man and woman that passed by her.