Flash Fiction Friday 2024 – Week 8

Flash Fiction Friday continues in 2024. New pieces appear every Friday on my Patreon throughout the year. The minimum pledge to read them before anyone else is $3 per month. and the number of pieces available is tied to the monthly pledge total so the more you support my efforts, the more you’ll get to read. Find out what they’re all about and check out some excerpts from this week’s update in this post.

Endless Dread

Going back to the old family lake house every year for a week of relaxation away from the crowded city of Los Angeles was always the highlight of Justine’s holidays, nut not this year. Things were different this time around. There was something in the water.

She didn’t know what it was and had nothing to justify her belief other than a lingering gut feeling and an occasional ripple on the otherwise calm and tranquil waters. The quietness she loved so much in previous years was now a symbol of hidden oppression. Every night, when she went to bed, she imagined a shadowy figure emerging from the bottom of the lake and coming to meet her in bed. Nothing happened, of course, for the shadow wasn’t real, just her imagination playing tricks on her for some reason. Perhaps, she should consult a specialist to talk about her weird dreams when she returned to the big city.

Five nights went by and the dreams never left her. Still, lacking any evidence, she dismissed them, and tried to enjoy the rest of her vacation the best she could.

And on the sixth night, she saw footprints. Wet footprints that appeared to be female but not entirely human. In one of them, she could almost glimpse the shape of a membrane in the remaining droplets of water. Confused and scared, she rushed inside to call for help, and saw her standing in the kitchen looking around menacingly.

(…)

Play a Game

Jake loved to play video games, but hated being Marcia’s beta tester. Her creations were either incredibly simplistic or obtusingly annoying with no middle-ground between them. He never knew what he was going to get, but there were always headaches along the way. If he lied about his true feelings, she would notice and be mad at him, but if he dared to tell the truth, the same thing would happen. There was no winning with her.

Marcia’s latest project was the first designed for a portable system and not a regular phone. It still relied heavily on touch controls, though. It was a swiping exercise, not more than that. If a spiral appeared on the screen he had to swipe down, but if the image was that of a clock striking noon, he had to swipe up. The two objects could appear anywhere on the screen. The first thirty or so were static to set the mood and the rest jumped around in every direction. The problem was that even at max speed, there was no challenge to it, only an annoying game of repetition that made him want to gouge his eyes out.

“How long do I have to keep playing this?” he asked, temporarily hitting the pause button. He was sitting on the sofa of her downtown apartment with a black and silver pocket console in hand. The buttons were white and the screen was dimly lit, emulating a retro device instead of trying to pass as a state-of-the-art product.

(…)

The Sky Is Beautiful

Hey, are you seeing this? The sky! Look at the sky! It’s all lit up like a giant Christmas tree. It’s the most breathtaking thing ever! Look.

Amazing, isn’t it? They’re saying on the news we’re never getting another meteor shower like this for the next one hundred years, at least. What a time to be alive! I could sit here forever, staring at this amazing spectacle. The universe really is a thing of beauty but, then again, so are you.

Come sit with me, sweetie, and look at the sky. Notice how it’s bathed in warm purple and golden hues. Each streak of light is a small piece of rock burning as it enters our atmosphere, but it’s also a sign, a message from the Cosmos that there are forces at play that are bigger than anyone of us. We often forget that. Sometimes, we think too highly of ourselves that we try to overcome the natural order of things. Of course, the opposite may also happen. When we look at the mirror and see nothing but insignificance every day, we believe it and allow it to shape the world. Both perspectives are wrong.

A balance must be struck, a middle-ground between excessive wonder and overwhelming disappointment. We all have a role to play in this existence. We just need to find ours. I can help you with that.

 

(…)

Too Much Noise

Dean couldn’t sleep. He wanted to but the noise coming from the house next door made it impossible to get some shut-eye. Catherine was to blame. His young neighbor was a semi-pro dominatrix who always had clients coming in. Sessions with her were always entertaining but could get rough. Whenever he heard screams, he knew someone was being whipped.

Dean rolled in bed and buried his head under the fluffy pillow but he couldn’t block the agonizing sounds coming from her neighbor’s place. He had always been quite patient with her antics but patience has its limits and he had reached his. After fifteen minutes of indecision, he rose from bed, got dressed, and knocked on her door to demand a bit of respect. Catherine opened the door, wearing a sleeveless black latex dress. The beautiful brunette had dazzling green eyes, generous breasts, and a ball and a chain tattoo on her right arm. Her smile was sweet and intoxicating.

“Hey neighbor, what’s up?” she asked.

“Good evening, Catherine. I’m sorry to bother you at this hour but you’re making…”

(…)

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