Back in 2008, Livejournal conducted a flash fiction contest where 500-word-stories had to be written on the theme: journal. They gave us a sop saying that all selected stories ‘might’ go into a published book, and we were allowed to send in more than one entry. I sent in five.
I’m serializing them on this blog. This is the second story. You can read the first here.
She takes the glass from my hands. Takes a sip. She says, “They won’t kill me, right?”
“I won’t let them.”
She presses her forehead against my hip bone and sighs. “It’s good to be back with you.”
I don’t say a thing. I just stand there, patting her skull.
“Are you angry at me?” She hugs my waist. “Are you?”
I don’t stop patting.
“You are. I can tell.” She sniffs. Don’t know if she’s crying or if she’s got a cold. Don’t care any more. “You’re a bastard,” she says.
I don’t get angry at that. It’s just a statement of fact.
“You don’t trust me,” she goes on. “You’ve never trusted me.” She digs her nails into my thighs. She’s always had long fingernails. Long and thin and beautiful.
“It was you who told me to snitch on him. It was you who set us up with the whole plan. It was you who said we’ll be happy.” Her words start to wobble a little. She shakes her head. “And I did all that, for you. For us!”
I sit down next to her. She picks up the glass again.
“But you,” she spits. “All you care about is how I ignored you for the last year. Wasn’t that part of the plan? Do you think he would not have seen it if I had just – just – pretended?” She takes another gulp, a bigger one. “The man had eyes of a hawk.” She shuts her eyes and leans back
I look at her thighs. Part of the plan. I thumb the journal in my pocket. Was that part of the plan, too, I want to ask her. I want to play the sounds out to her in full volume. I want to ask her if all the orgasms the old codfish gave her were part of the plan too. But I just sit there. Don’t say a thing.
She strokes my cheek. “Why don’t you get it, kid? I love you.”
Dames do that. They knee you in the balls while ramming their tongues down your throat.
She keeps going. “Would I have killed him otherwise? You don’t think I’m here just because of the cops, do you?” Her eyes are half-closed, now. “I don’t need you to escape, dear. I have evidence that I loved him.” She grinned.
“The journal.”
She nods like a drunk. “Yes, looks just like a real one. Even has a nano-titanium strip on its processor. No – court in the – world can – tell the difference.”
I blink once. Twice. “The journal’s fake?” My words fall out one by one, choking on themselves.
She drops the glass to the floor in reply. Her head is thrown back.
I check her pulse. Nothing. Digitalis is fast. And strong.
I look at the walls. White as a dead lab rat.
Pushing to my feet, I stumble into the kitchen. I need a drink. With something strong and fast in it. Right now.
Before the walls start dripping red.
Image Courtesy: Decor Advisor
This is an excellent story. In the end, does it imply that he wants to get himself killed too?
Destination Infinity
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Yes, that’s the idea. He wants something ‘strong and fast’, so that he can get it over with.
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Enthralling story, fastens you from very beginning… and compels you to read what comes ahead… We would like to read…
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Thanks, Snehroz! Haven’t seen you at Write Club again. Come! 🙂
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Hi Sharath,
I like this story. I am glad to invite you to write a story for our book “Blank Space” – Filled with Inspiration – which will feature 100 Writers and 100 stories. You could join writing along with people like Major. Surendra Poonia, Dr. Vikas Amte and many others.
If interested please drop a mail to publish@propelsteps.com , we shall discuss. Note: You can submit your previously published stories on your blog as well.
I am sharing this link for your reference http://propelsteps.wordpress.com/2014/06/20/blank-space-write-your-inspiring-moment-get-published/
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Hi Dinesh,
Thanks for the comment. I will get in touch with you right away.
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Oh wow, this one was fantastic! Inspite of the plan, he loved her enough to kill her if she had strayed. Love this emotion! Love is a crazy thing.
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It is 🙂 I remember I’d just seen Sin City before I wrote this story, and I wanted the same noir-type feel to it. I am glad you liked it.
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Lovely one there Sharath, loved the fact that you left both the prologue and the epilogue open ended for us to draw our own inspirations from 🙂
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Ha, yes, that’s what happens with most flash fiction pieces, I think. You end up just describing a slice. The trick is in choosing the right slice so that the reader gets hints about both the future and the past.
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So he kills her after reading the journal thinking she cheated on him, and it turns out the journal is fake? What is nano titanium?
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To your first question, Hari, yes. To the second question, I have no idea. This was my early attempt at writing science fiction. That’s my excuse 🙂
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Though now that you brought it up, the story would work just the same with a ‘normal’ journal, wouldn’t it? Hmm.
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