flash fiction, (c) 2013 by C. N. Nevets
The creaking of the floor board under my feet provide my only guidance. There is no light by which to see. There is only the smell of cedar sawdust, book mold, and well-aged dust, blanketing me, the gentle whistle of air above me, and the sound of my walking below. As long long as it creaks, I know I'm on the floor. The creaks are loudest in the center of the room. They became quieter, tighter, as I draw close the large furniture that the darkness conceals.
I hold my hand up in front of my face, just to the side of my vision, cupped slightly, reinforcing the darkness.
On one shelf, there is a light. A flame. An ember, really. Inside a glass jar. When I stop walking, and there is no more creaking, I can hear the glass crackling. It can't take much before. As soon as it cracks, the ember will spark. It will spread. The room will be filled with light.
Enough light that I will be able to clearly see my flesh consumed gradually in fire.
I cannot contemplate it. I cannot bear the thought of it. The specter of it makes my heart creak.
There's a light switch on the other side of the room. If I can make it there, if I can only switch on the light, then I can face the ember in the jar. Then I can see it. I can face it. I can mange it.
But until then.
I hold my hand up in front of my face, just to the side of my vision, cupped slightly, reinforcing the darkness.
Love how you circled the end back around- great piece.
ReplyDeleteVery descriptive piece. Liked it a lot.
ReplyDeleteYay! I love to see you still writing. You sure know how to build suspense and then LEAVE US HANGING. :)
ReplyDelete@Summer - Thank you so much. :) I find myself doing that quite a bit, sometimes symbolically and sometimes quite literally, as in this case. Glad it worked!
ReplyDelete@Clarissa - Thank you! When I write especially descriptive flash I'm never sure how it's going to work out. When I'm writing more seriously, my descriptive passages are nit-picked and redone a million ties. Since I never edit my flash, it's always a toss-up!
@Michelle - Trying to write, at least. :) Hard to find the time, let alone the emotional and mental energy. I keep feeling like it's right around the corner, but the corner keeps vanishing as I approach it. As for leaving you hanging... I do like questions more than answers.