When Mike went back to the piece of wall art, this time on his own, there was something different about it.
There was still the blue sky and some fluffy white clouds, with a young man looking up at the sky through the V-shaped gap that had appeared in a stone-cold grey wall. The ground around the young man was strewn with rocks and parts of the wall that had fallen away, revealing the blue sky.
It didn’t take him long to realise what was different. Somebody had added a pair of blue wings to the V-shape where the wall met. It was the message he’d been waiting for.
Three minutes later, after gazing at the blue sky, with butterflies fluttering in his stomach, Mike stood on the precipice of his life, his blue eyes fixed on the future. He refused to look down, for fear of being trapped in his past. All he craved was the promise of what lay ahead.
With both arms outstretched, Mike positioned them at shoulder height. As the sun emerged from behind a cloud, making his blue eyes shine, a silent affirmation of his chosen path, he took a step forward. He flapped his arms, now transformed into wings, a symbol of his journey to his true love, David.
It wasn’t just the butterflies that soared; his final journey to reunite with David carried him through the artwork towards the blue sky. On the other side, he was greeted by a serene landscape, a testament to the peace and acceptance he had found.
With open arms, his first love, David, and the endless blue skies welcomed him.
Written for Esther Chilton’s writing prompt – This week’s prompt is ‘Blue.’
The featured image and main image in this blog post were created using AI.
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This is beautiful, Hugh. I could see those wings carrying him up. Those people who can write flash fiction have my admiration. To pack so much into such a short space is fantastic. I can do short stories, novellas and novels, but not flash fiction.
Thank you, V.M. I’m delighted you could picture what was happening as you read along.
Flash Fiction is something I have loved writing since I joined the 99-word flash fiction challenge many years ago. Sadly, it no longer runs, but I learned a great deal about it while participating. Now it’s something I enjoy writing more than anything else.
A lovely story, and beautifully written, Hugh. There is something about butterflies that bring peace, like angels offering safe harbors. Looking back in the past seems to justify perspective for the future. You are very apt at writing flash fiction.
Thank you, Eugi. Butterflies have featured in some of my other stories. You are right; they bring peace and calm, especially when I see them flying around my garden or in the local park. I think that’s what Mike felt when he revisited the artwork in this piece of flash.
You are very welcome, Hugh.
How sweet! I think the past is a place to visit every now and then but carefully. I remember being by the side of a dying child who claimed the room was full of butterflies – it was the morphine the nurse said but I could have sworn I felt their wings flapping all around me.
I agree about visiting the past. It’s helped me through tough times.
You paint an interesting picture of the dying child. It makes you ponder what the end of our journey here will be like and what we will experience. A room full of butterflies sounds a lovely experience just before moving on.
The child had had a particularly rough life – several people – social workers, foster parents and others were there, the room was hushed. I’d brought her a VCR and tapes of Wrestlemania which she loved. It look a few years and a nasty divorce to figure out why.
Their life sounds awful. But I’m pleased the child had a peaceful end.
This is a great story in such a short form, Hugh. Well done!
Thanks Dan. That’s great to hear. If you could provide any feedback on why you thought it was great, that would be very helpful. I need as much feedback as possible to improve my fiction writing. I’m always learning, but hearing what readers like and dislike helps a great deal.
First, this is concise and powerful. I would struggle with flash fiction because I lean toward more elaborate explanations. You’ve pared this down to what’s necessary which is a good thing, even in longer works. I also like the imagery. I could see the scene you were describing.
Dan, that’s perfect feedback, thank you so much. It helps me a lot with future stories.
Have you ever tried writing flash fiction? I must admit that it took me a while to enjoy writing it, but when I discovered the 99-word flash fiction challenge Charli Mills used to run over at the Carrot Ranch, it was not long before I fell in love with it. She was also an excellent teacher of writing it.
Up until I started the Thursday Doors Writing Challenge, I was afraid of writing a short story. I work very hard on those, and since I see a distinct drop in likes and comments if I go over 2,500 words, I try to keep it below that, but it’s hard for me. 99 words scares me almost as much as poetry. Maybe someday.
I certainly see a big difference in the number of comments my blogging tips posts get compared to the flash fiction posts I publish, Dan. I stopped concerning myself with the number of ‘likes’ posts get years ago because we all know that people click ‘like’ without reading posts. Likewise, writing poetry scares me, and I don’t fully understand it. That may have something to do with my dyslexic brain, though.
You did an amazing job with this prompt, Hugh. I love the symbolism of looking backward at the past, then being brave enough to step forward into the future.
Thank you so much, Jan. ‘Time’ always fascinates me, and it seems perfect to bring into this piece of flash. We are all often afraid of the future, but I believe we should be more aware of our pasts, while not fearing what the future may bring.
It is quite something to take a single word and build it into something huge and in this case, other-worldly and hopeful, but you’ve managed to do it so well.
Paul, thank you.
Sometimes, a story can come to me straight away. This one did when I saw another prompt elsewhere. I knew it fitted well with the prompt Esther had given, too, and when the other blogger ignored my question about where they had sourced the image for the prompt they published, I lacked confidence in proceeding (copyright issues). So, I built the story around the one-word prompt Esther had given.
That’s a beautiful story, Hugh. It filled me with hope. May I please add it to my word prompt results for Wednesday?
Thank you, Esther. I’m glad it produced the hope I wanted the words to portray.
Yes, please do include it in your next word prompt post.
Thank you, Hugh. And, yes, you certainly succeeded. I felt so much lighter after reading it.