Showing posts with label flash fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flash fiction. Show all posts

Friday, June 19, 2015

Digging

Digging.

My childhood was spent digging.

At the beach, at the park, in the backyard, for scrabble tiles, and in between and under dirty and dusty popcorn kernels and ballpoint pen caps and lost teeth in the couch cushions.

I dug holes of various shapes and sizes using frustratingly flimsy plastic shovels, hands that quickly became cut and bruised and filthy, sticks and stones and broken bones and hired help.

These holes were tide pools, miniature civilizations for imaginary superheroes, houses of squirmy worms and wriggly bugs, and caves and caverns rife with hairy coins and sticky action figures from popular movies on the silver screen at a theatre near you.

Sand and dirt would fly as I dug to pass the time, because friends and acquaintances and those other kids who may someday become friends or acquaintances were doing it, because if I created a hole deep and wide enough I could hide there and escape or rent it out to some other kid who didn't have a hole of his own and I dug to dig, you dig?

Burrowing down creating crevices penetrating the planet, trying to finally get to Asia 'cause I was hungry for some take-out, looking for fossils and diamonds and buried bones to sell to dogs too worn out to excavate something to gnaw on themselves as well as other treasures from those who lived on this land before me.

My childhood was spent digging.

Digging.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

You Used to Smile

"You used to smile whenever I entered the room" she uttered avoiding eye contact as she entered the room.

How things had changed.

He kicked the table leg nervously, angrily  with his foot as he sat there among the shadows.

The sun was setting in more ways than one.

She looked upon this older, tired man and tried to remember the love she once felt.

They were so young.

Rhythmic dance music emanated from the apartment above accompanied by squeals of joy.

Their eyes met.

"I loved you with every ounce of my heart, you know that, don't you?" he said heavily as his head drooped toward the floor.

She did.

Tempted to suggest trying again, righting wrongs, admitting past dalliances, fixing mistakes and yet, as they sat there at the same table they had purchased together on that sunny day all those years ago when their love was fresh and fun and powerful, they were miles and miles apart.

What had gone wrong?