I wrote this for the August 8th Flash Fiction Challenge
She who’d smiled and cooed when she gave him the fruit,
now laughed out loud
and watched him chew.
The fruit glowed red, juicy, crisp, and tart.
When he bit in, droplets ran to his shirt and
down his chin.
They burned through the soft cotton and scarred his skin.
He reached for her, in pain, confused;
his finger was cut
on the hem of her red pleated skirt.
I watched the rent spread wide, filling with crimson before
overflowing the wound and splashing onto her open-toed mules.
Shoes that were once white, were now scarlet,
like her name.
The prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about a poisoned apple. Let’s explore dark myth. Deconstruct the original or invent something new. Negotiate the shadows, shed light, but go where the prompt leads you!
So contagious!
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Nice update to the myth, TN–very subtle. As a bit of a shoe aficionado (not heels or fancy shoes per se, but flats and tennis shoes), I noticed it straightaway. Great descriptors and verb choices, too, like “rent” and “tart” and “chew” (the latter, I feel, lends the man an animal quality, and perhaps even a negative connotation, such as a cow chewing its cud).
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I’m smiling right now. So glad you enjoyed it.
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A plum of a tale, one for the library.
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You negotiated the shadows, TN! Everything falls apart and fills up with her name. Wow!
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Thanks, Charli
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I like the references to the board game… Clue.
In the original game there were no illustrations so you could imagine who you wanted.
Bloody well done!
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Thank you
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