3-min. fiction

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/08/141172528/turnover

      One of the articles I read, titled "Turnover", by Margaret Friedman, caught my attention pretty well. I liked how realistic the main character seemed; acting just like a small boy. One part that specifically caught my attention was when the boy yelled, "Shut up and die!". This is something that most people would agree sounds just like a young child. Another part that caught my attention was how they portrayed the boy not understanding things well, which is also very realistic.

 http://www.npr.org/2011/11/04/142022710/rule-of-hospitality

      Another article I read was called "Rule of Hospitality", by Megan Branning. In this story I really liked how they insinuated everything about the boy, instead of actually saying anything directly. They show that he doesn't have a mother, that he acts and dresses very similarly to his father, and that he's very nice and friendly. Another thing that I really liked was the attention to detail that the author used, mentioning everything from how they watched an animated movie, to how the boy at the backdoor pulled a crowbar out of his bag.

 http://www.npr.org/2011/10/22/141618074/a-brighter-smile-in-as-little-as-three-days

       The last article I read was titled "A Brighter Smile In As Little As Three Days", by Caryn Tayeh. This story was alright, but it definitely didn't catch my attention as well as the others. It was very cloudy and fast, it didn't explain enough of the story. It portrayed a girl who moved to another city and met another guy, that's about all I caught out of it. It was written well, but the idea of the story wasn't too great. I wouldn't recommend reading this one.

Polished Piece

She was everywhere and nowhere, with no general purpose or direction. She moved on and on and no matter what happened to her or what was said to her, she never stopped. She was rarely taken notice of, and if she was, she disappeared quickly. She went as far and deep in every direction as she was able to, then set a new destination.

Few knew of her, but nobody knew who she was. She didn’t reveal her name and nobody knew if she owned one. She never uttered a word to anyone, not even the single person in this world that had gotten close to her; me. I knew who she was; where she came from.

Memories of Sky rest in various spaces of my mind, stretching all the way into its dark depths. She was like no other person on Earth. I seemed to be pulled to her no matter where I went; maybe she came to me? Everything about her becomes instantly cemented into my memory and stays forever, if I think about it. I remember everything from the shade of her green eyes to the many things that she’s taught me.

The oldest memory I can recall of Sky, but also the most vivid, was the day I turned nine years old. My birthday party was in the monstrously huge yard behind my small, blue, countryside house. There were only family members present because I wasn’t very well liked by most kids my age. The party was nearing an end when I noticed the lonely young woman leaning against the wall of the house, eyes locked on mine, looking through me. Her face didn’t match any other in memory, and no other person I later asked could verify who she was. I proceeded to avoid her completely, not even allowing my eyes to pass over the area around her. She quickly disappeared before I even knew she was gone, but the memory of her remained.

An eternity consisting of 10 years had passed since that day when things started going insane. I was speeding home after a 12-hour shift of mind-numbing work as a dishwasher. My eyelids tried to force themselves closed, it took all my power to keep them open. The road signs flashed by in a blur; the car hummed with the rush of passing air. My mind went between various thoughts with the speed of a snail in slow motion.

Although my mind was foggy, I distinctly remember that nights’ sky being exceptionally clear. That fact made the next event much more confusing to me at the time. First it was in the distance; godly blue spears striking the Earth at incredible speeds. Then I realized that they weren’t so far away.

The lightning grew quickly and the booming of the accompanying drums deafened me. I was in the center of the supernatural storm; I couldn’t see past the flashing wall in any direction. My brakes screeched, but the impact was inevitable. I slammed into the net of electricity and everything went black.

To be continued…