Emotion Flash Fiction - I'm Hearing Voices - Final Day

I have enjoyed these last few days so much! Hello to all my new followers, I hope you like what I have to say! I promise I'll get around to checking out everyone who commented and followed me, and everyone who entered the 'fest, but I just didn't realise how hectic my 2nd week back to Uni could be!

Thanks goes to Cassie and Angie for this amazing blogfest. It's been super fun!

Now, my emotion is a little unorthodox. There's a bit of a debate on the internet as to whether 'loneliness' is actually an emotion, but I've made an executive decision and for the purpose of this blog, it is. Without further ado, here is the flash fiction. Enjoy!

She felt sorry for me, the waitress, as she cleared away the cutlery from the other side of the table set for two. It was the way she looked at me, with her almost imperceptible smile and the haste with which she lowered her eyes from mine.

I knew that making friends in a new place would be difficult, but I had never anticipated this. At first, I tried to pretend I didn’t care. But eventually, it gets even the strongest of us, sucking life like a parasite. It starts off slow, but builds up, and up until the roar of silence that surrounds you is deafening. Mid-afternoon, while innocently placing a coffee order, I realised that the only soul I’d spoken to all day was paid not to ignore my existence. The thought left me hollow, and cold.     

Inside my head, my consciousness struggled to compensate and, instead of actually having them, I begun to imagine the conversations I would have. The highlight of my week was my Sunday night call from Mother.

“It’s great”, I lied, my pride refusing to permit the truth. I had been so desperate to unfurl my wings and fly. Perhaps if I’d known that my fate was, instead, to fall, I wouldn’t have been so eager. I would grasp at straws, teasing out every morsel of conversation that I could before her inevitable goodbyes.

As the waiter passed, I pulled my phone from my pocket and checked for a message that wasn't there.

Word count: 250. Like a boss.

Sarah x

I'm Hearing Voices Blogfest - Dialogue Introduction

Post two of the I'm hearing voices blogfest!


First of all: Oh, my, goodness! I never expected such an AMAZING response from everyone! Thank you to everyone who commented on my post! Next time I see Nasreen, I'll tell her all how much you liked her, but as you can probably guess, she's not the easiest person to pin down!


I had to flick back through a few stories that I'd written until I found two characters who jumped up and grabbed me. I did eventually find some that were suitable and once I got them talking they couldn't stop so it's a tiny bit over the word count! But here are Alannah and Christian to introduce each other!

“Thanks Sarah! So, my name is Alannah…”

“No, sweetie, you’ve totally got the wrong idea about this. We have to introduce each other. I’ll go first. Specky-four-eyes over here is Alannah.”

“You have glasses too…”

“Yes but mine are fabulous. And don’t interrupt. She’s twenty two, and a reporter.”

“Ex-reporter.”

“What did I say about interrupting? Ex-reporter, but technically everyone at that magazine was fired so it doesn’t count. She was born in Essen, in Germany. She’s a bit too shy for her own good, and clumsy. She is the funniest drunk you will ever see. Her hair is naturally blonde but she’s currently sporting a brunette ‘do because she thinks it makes her look more intelligent. It doesn’t.”

“Okay. I think it’s my turn now. The loud-mouth over here is Christian. He’s twenty-three, obnoxious and most defiantly gay.”

“A regular bum-chum, but you should really say homosexual. It’s much more politically correct.”

“Urgh, he’s also vulgar in case you can’t already tell.” 

“I’m not vulgar, I’m just telling it how it is!”

“Well stop. You’re going to scare away the readers. He’s always scaring away people. When we’re out on the town I can never get a guy because, believe it or not, Christian has a very overpowering presence.”

“As I always say, if he can’t stand the heat, then he better get out of the kitchen.”

“But they’re not in your kitchen, they’re in mine!”

“They’ve just never sampled my cuisine.”

“I give up. I really do.”

“You’d never give me up, Lana, you wouldn’t know how to.”

“The sad thing is; he’s right. And I guess that's why we're best friends.”

“Aw, thank you sweetie. And despite the fact that your roots need done, I love you too!”

That's when they started arguing about how long you can reasonably leave between hair appointments. I don't even think they saw me leave...

Sarah x

Characters on the couch - I'm Hearing Voices Blogfest

My first post, in my first ever blogfest! This should be exciting. Having never done anything like this before, I don't really know what to expect, but I'm already finding it great fun!


Here was the brief for today:


Characters on the couch: Have one of your characters answer the following questions (to make this work to your benefit, choose a character who is the hardest for you to write :) Max 250 words (Not including the questions—only the answers).

The character I have picked is one of my original characters that I slipped into a fanfiction once. I fell in love with her, and I've already begun to map out her own story. I can't wait to get started!

Her name is Nasreen. She's a gypsy living in a fictional Persia during the middle ages. She can't quite remember how old she is, but even if she did, she wouldn't tell you. Here's what she had to say:

1. What is your biggest vulnerability? Do others know this or is it a secret? 

"I don't have one, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. Once people know your weakness, they own you."

2. What do people believe about you that is false?

 "Most people believe that I am a whore. They just assume, and wrongly so, that a woman living on the streets has to prostitute herself to survive. Let them think whatever they want. As long as they can’t feel my fingers as I cut the cords of their purse strings, I don’t care."

3. What would your best friend say is your fatal flaw? Why?

 

"Well, the word fatal implies that I would be dead, and seeing as I'm not, I mustn't have one. But, if there was something, it would probably be my arrogance. I'm so used to getting away with my ‘crimes’ that one day I might get complacent. It’s not likely though." 

4. What would the same friend say is your one redeeming quality? Why?

"I steal, I cheat, I lie, and I backstab. There’s nothing redeeming to be found in me. But I survive, and that’s all that matters.” 

5. What do you want most? What will you do to get it? 

"I spend most of my days wanting. Food, money, shoes that fit. What I want most though, is to not have to want. Ultimately, I want security, but that’s not something I can wrap my thieving fingers around. It’s just a concept, and one that is beyond even my grasp.”

Thank you Nasreen for your time, I... hold on... where'd my handbag go...?

Sarah x