Hey - two days in a row I've done flash fiction! That hasn't happened in ... well years.
Today was my entry for the Mid-Week Flash Challenge found
HERE. Real simple, a picture is provide and you have a week to write up to 750 words about it or what inspires you about it. Can't go wrong with that.
Except I went over the word count.
Oh well - it was a good exercise and I rather like the story.
Check out the other entries at the link provided above and mine is below.
The prompt:
HOME
The pink daisy was waiting for her among the rocks and driftwood on the beach. Soreah had been finding them in various places all day long. She had no idea who had been leaving them or if they were even meant for her.
She looked around to see if anyone was watching her but she appeared to be alone. That was unusual as the island was a popular tourist location and it was smack dab in the middle of tourist season. At this time of day, the beach was usually crowded with couples walking along the beach or having one of those expensive “private” dinners only steps from the water.
She stopped only feet from the daisy, unsure if she should disturb it or not. Curiosity was getting the better of her. Surely if it was meant for someone else, the person who placed it there would speak out before Soreah messed anything up.
With that settled, Soreah knealt and carefully picked up the cheery daisy and brought it to her nose. She had always loved daisies and it had taken a lot of restraint not to pick up each and every one she saw throughout the day. The pollen tickled her nose, making a sneeze creep up her throat, but she was able to stifle it before it escaped.
“I’m glad you finally picked one of them up.”
Soreah jumped and squealed in surprise, wheeling away from the direction of the voice. After a few seconds she was able to catch her breath and looked at the man who spoke, seemingly coming out of the middle of nowhere. She could’ve sworn that she was alone on the beach a second ago.
“You left it for me?”
“Yes, but you left all the rest behind. I brought them with me here.” The strange man held out a dozen more of the pink blooms.
“Um, I—thank you?” Soreah hesitantly took the flowers, still unnerved by the sudden appearance of the man.
“You are quite welcome.” He smiled at her, but it didn’t make her feel any more at ease. His smile was odd, not that it wasn’t a natural smile, because it appeared to be, but just something odd about him and his smile. “Now, aren’t you going to ask me why I had laid them out for you to find?”
This man’s behavior continued to confuse Soreah. She looked behind her briefly, the sun was nearly completely behind the horizon and the darkness was coming in quickly.
“I was just wondering that very thing,” she replied, keeping a much lighter tone than she felt. “You took the words right out of my mouth.”
“Well, let me tell you,” the man began. “The first time I saw you, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen and needed to meet you.” Soreah blushed and briefly hid her face in the flowers but didn’t interrupt as the man continued his story. “But I knew a man of my lowly stature couldn’t approach a woman such as yourself without some kind of gift, so I decided I’d lay flowers out for you to find as you went about your day. That part was easy. Figuring out your routine was the hard part.”
Soreah shivered despite the heat of the island. How long had he really been following her?
“Once I had that figured out, I put the flowers out, and viola, here we are. Finally, I get to meet you.” The man’s smile deepened, which did nothing to alleviate Soreah’s concerns.
“Thank you, that is very sweet of you, but I can’t-“
“Ah, you cannot deny me, Soreah,” the man said, in the most reasonable tone of voice she had ever heard.
“How do you know my name?” She took a step back, fear starting to pulsate through her body. Her nose tickled again, and this time she couldn’t fight off the sneeze.
“I know lots of things about you.” The man took a stop closer to her, closing in the distance she just made between the two of them. Then he took another step and another until he was right in front of her.
“Look, I’m sorry-“ Soreah began before she sneezed again.
“Like I know the agent I dusted those daisies with should be kicking in right now.”
Shocked, Soreah tried to step back, to escape, but the burning sensation in her nose was worsening now, making it hard to breathe. Her eyes were starting to water.
“What did you do to me?” she gasped, falling to the sand and trying to crawl away.
“Nothing that any man who was in love wouldn’t do,” the man replied calmly.
Soreah’s vision started to spot and panic sat like a lead balloon in her chest. She continued to try to crawl away but whatever drugs or chemicals he put in those flowers was affecting her coordination.
“Oh don’t worry, Soreah. I have everything you could possibly need.”
“What?” she cried weakly.
“Don’t you worry about a thing,” he cooed, approaching her again, kneeling beside her. “I’ll take care of you. Now that I found you, I’m never letting you go.”
Soreah struggled to get away but couldn’t make her body cooperate. The last thing Soreah remembered was feeling his cold and clammy hands on her body as he picked her up.
“Time to go home, Soreah.”
