Hello, Friends!
Today, I am sharing a short story I wrote with you. This story is flash fiction, which is a genre of short story that is 1000 words or under. I learned this from Rosalie Valentine, at Penprints. Penprints has a yearly challenge to write a flash fiction based on a prompt in three weeks. I decided to enter. :) In any case, here is the link to the picture prompt. (I didn't actually put the picture on my blog because I wasn't sure if it was public domain.)
*Note: My work is copyrighted, so please don't use it without asking my permission first, and please properly cite me. (If you want to ask my permission to use my work, my email is sprucehnogard@gmail.com) Thank you!
By the way, sorry the font is small and black. I copied this from other places I had been working on it, and Blogger is being difficult.
Mimi
started. The words “We should talk” were written in snow on her
windshield. Nothing like this had happened in a long, long, time. She
furtively glanced around, then brushed the still-falling snow off her
car. The frost stayed stubbornly attached to her windshield, as if
sneering at her misfortune. What did it mean? Why now, of all times?
She thought she had left all that behind long ago. How did he even
find her? She groaned.
When
she got home, a heavenly smell greeted her. Did someone make cookies?
But the smell wasn't quite right. . . someone had made a whole
dinner. Great. Mimi was hoping she would have at least a full
twenty-four hours to recuperate from the shock of Jack finding her.
But alas.
“What
do you want?” Mimi crossed her arms. Jack looked the same as
always, brown hair immaculately messy, and oddly pale blue eyes,
which danced as if he held some hidden secret.
“Oh,
I just had a conundrum I needed help with,” Jack replied.
“I
left for a reason. Did you actually think I wanted to be involved in
all your messes?”
“Dear.
No, I did not, but that doesn't change the fact that I need help. You
have a gift. I have not found such talent in three hundred years.”
Mimi
sighed. “Why now? I just want to spend time with my family.” She
circumvented Jack, surveyed the mushroom-goat cheese ravioli, and
tugged on her braid. “This year, I'll actually get to be with my
sisters for Christmas.”
Jack
sighed. “I didn't have a choice. “We both know that. And the king
will be in a towering rage if it's not completed on time. Remember
what happened the last time we missed a deadline?”
“You
missed
a deadline? Yes, I remember,” Mimi looked up and closed her eyes as
if she was in pain. Her heart twisted with guilt. “It can't happen
again. Let me get my things.”
“Let's
eat first.” Jack smiled. He had to awkwardly twist past the door
frame to sit at the table.
Mimi
sat across from Jack, and they began their dinner. Mimi's mind
started to drift. Despite all the craziness of traveling to and from
Byrne, she had missed Jack. The king might be mad, but Ella, Joseph,
Lars, were all so caring. Come to think of it, all the people were
kind. Unlike here. Everyone was always in a rush, wanting their own
way. But the quiet magic of Byrne provided a breathtaking cocoon, as
wondrous and stunning as any child's dream, if one could forget the
king's shadow tainting the land. His power unfolded like a storm at
sea, obliterating everything in its path. And he knew how to make
people pay, too. Mimi shuddered. The last time he had been impatient.
. . the last time, he had channeled his fury through the Gateway,
into Mimi's hometown. Buildings had collapsed, earthquakes had
wreaked havoc, and when that was done, fires had ravaged the rest,
until what was left was a skeleton of what was before. Mimi struggled
to shake the thoughts, but the roaring voice in her head wouldn't
stop screaming,
it's all your fault! It's all your fault!
“Hush.
Hush. It's not your fault, Mimi. The king would have done something,
to someone, eventually. Please come back.” Jack's eyes held a quiet
sort of restless waiting.“The sculptures take me at least twice as
long, sometimes longer, to get just right. The king is getting
impatient; he wants something more magnificent than all his other
sculptures. I'm scared, Mimi.”
Mimi
took a few deep breaths. The sculptures she and Jack had created
together were truly Mimi's favorite part of Byrne. Mimi had been
blessed with the gift of Rimewhittling, or as Jack liked to call it,
perfectionism. Many times, Mimi could somehow refine the statues in a
way that didn't seem to alter the sculptures, but in reality caused a
world of difference. Her work was much better than Jack's. Once
Mimi's was done, Jack would breathe the spells to make the figurines
come to life.
Jack
grabbed the plates and put them in the sink while Mimi called her mom
and left a message. She'd have to cancel tomorrow, but hopefully she
would see them all on Christmas.
“It'll
be faster if we fly,” Jack grinned, his wild eyes portraying the
night sky.
Mimi's
heart felt as if it had wings. “I had forgotten so much.” She
opened the tiny window, and Jack squeezed out. She took Jack's hand.
Mimi was the happiest she'd been in a long, long time, despite the
cruel night air, despite the guilt locked away in her heart, despite
even the sudden upending of her Christmas.
Mimi
and Jack swiftly climbed through the Gateway. Neither stopped to
enjoy the view, instead traveling straight to Jack's workshop. A
giant wolf sculpture as tall as Mimi stood waiting for them.
“She's
tricky for two reasons: One, she's a spirit wolf; two,” Jack
dropped his voice to a whisper, “she can help us depose the king.”
Mimi
sucked in her breath.
“The
ice isn't pleased, but I can't figure out what's wrong.” Jack ran a
hand over the wolf's back.
“More
precision will help.” Without taking her eyes off the wolf, Mimi
grabbed a carving knife. After an hour of cleaning up the statue, she
stepped back. “There. She looks much better now.”
Jack
shook his head. “I told you you were talented. I can't tell the
difference.”
Mimi
pursed her lips. Something was still wrong. “Her eyes!” Although
the eyes were beautiful, they were not spirit eyes. Mimi started
adjusting them. Mimi worked all day, and long into the night. By the
time she was done, dawn was just waking the sky. She shook Jack.
“Done.”
Jack's
eyes fluttered open. He saw the wolf, and sat bolt upright. “Odin's
ravens. She's beautiful.” Jack caressed the wolf's muzzle and
whispered, “Breathe.”
The
wolf shook itself awake.
Spruce Nogard
A Tale Dark and Grimm, and the rest of the series, helps heal. There are very few people in the world who actually believe in the power of children, and Adam Gidwitz is one of them. Not many people are willing to believe children and trust that children are often wiser than adults, and not look down on children. Even I struggle to do this. Adam Gidwitz trusts children, believes in them, and listens to them. It's hard to explain.
Uprooted is a fairy tale-esque story. The messages in this book are so strong and so powerful, but not overshadowing. I really can't say much without spoiling everything. Just go read it. :) It's about love, though. Not romantic love, which is generally the first thing we think of, but loving others. It's about how sickness in our minds (don't worry--it's not psychological, it's very much fairy tale) makes us and others act differently, out of character. It's about how we are not seeing the person, we are seeing the manifestation of the sickness. Maybe that person chooses to try to get better. Maybe they don't. That is definitely their decision, and they are harming themselves and others if they choose not to get help, but it doesn't mean they aren't suffering, too. They are still sick.
