Flash Fiction Challenge

Sara Flower has written a fantastic entry and has inspired me to partake in the Flash Fiction Challenge. The Rachel Writes blog began the challenge of writing flash fiction that is exactly 200 words.

More about this fun challenge:

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, "Shadows crept across the wall". These five words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), do one or more of these:

* end the story with the words: "everything faded." (also included in the word count)

* include the word "orange" in the story

* write in the same genre you normally write

* make your story 200 words exactly!

 

Since I have a terrible cold and couldn't sleep, I wrote this until 2am:

 

Shadows crept across the wall

The bokor's fire reaching tall

Exposed pin-stuck sawdust dolls

Watching scattering critters crawl

Buccaneer, survived it all

In the midsts of Titan's squalls

Heard the screaming cannon balls

Dodged a limey's Musket ball

Yet on his Haitian port of call

The looser of last night's brawl

Shrieked his feeble warning call

'Leave her now or harm befall!'

Was she worth it all?

Her curvy feel, her voodoo drawl

Hips that roll, lips enthrall

Still, was she really worth this fall?

Salty shipmates carried him tall

'Go to bokor, he heals all'

Pulled back the whore's ruined shawl

Stuffed in his wound, a cotton ball

Bokor said, 'Do you recall,

Who lay with you before the maul,

In dirty, straw-thrown stall?

My wayward daughter, sweet Chantale

The devil charmed her with your gall

Hell has claimed her for his all

Now I claim you as my thrall

In this jar, death's cure all'

His eyes widened in smokey pall

Cryptic mumbo-jumbo scrawl

Zombie juice, all in all

His undead future he must forestall

He kicked the jar against the wall

Orange splatter quickly sprawls

His soul saved—his heart stalls

Everything faded, once and for all

 

This just goes to show everyone: don't write poetry on cold meds!