Flash Fiction

When I first started writing, I did several flash fiction pieces. I think this is my favorite.

The Field
“Meet me” a voice said, sending shivers of excitement coursing up her spine. She didn't need to see who had spoken those words to know who it was or where they would meet. Hidden deep in the forest was a field of flowers in shades of pinks, yellows, and purples. 

They had been meeting in the field for years, ever since they were kids. The field had provided an escape. Escape from life, from pain, from everything. 

They would lay in the field and watch the clouds, talking about everything and nothing. They poured their hearts out to each other there in the field. 

She was walking what was once a well-worn path through the dense forest. Weeds now sprang up where her feet had walked so many times before. Even with the path disappearing she could find the field, her heart would lead her.

She paused at the tree where the forest ended and the field began. Their initials were carved in a heart into the tree trunk. She ran her fingers over the letters, remembering the day he had pulled his knife from his pocket and carved them. He had done the same on the tree that was at the end of his path. That way when they left the field and headed their separate ways they would have a reminder that their hearts would be together even when they were physically apart.

She stepped out of the forest and the sun shone down on her face warming it. She took in the rainbow of colors that lay in front of her. She inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the flowers.

The scent brought the memories flooding in. Memories of their first kiss, their professions of love, his proposal. When the day comes for her to take his name, she would wear a crown of flowers woven from the flowers in their field. 

She strode to the center of the field and sat. She started picking flowers and making necklaces. Hours were slowly passing by and still he had not shown. The sun was setting but she wouldn't leave. She wouldn't miss the chance to see him. 

She didn't doubt that he would show. There had been delays in the past. Chores his mother had made him do before he could leave. Once his dog had gotten loose and he’d had to chase him all over the neighborhood before he could meet her. 

She needed to see him now, to look into his beautiful blue eyes. The crickets began to chirp and the lightening bugs were dancing in the field. 

She laid back and stared at the sky. Slowly the blue sky faded to black and stars danced in the night sky. She could name all of the constellations that filled the sky. 

Her eyelids drifted close.

“Wake up my sweet.” His warm breath tickled as he whispered in her ear. 

She smiled. He had finally come. She rolled onto her side not bothering to open her eyes. She could feel his warmth.

“Tell me. Tell me what the future holds.”

“We will marry in the little church in town. You will be stunning with these flowers in your hair.” She could feel him move a strand of hair from her face. Still she didn't open her eyes.

“We will move into a little house with a picket fence. I will tell you I love you every day. I will cherish you. We will have children and grow old together.”

“But first you must leave. You must don your uniform and ensure that our children will have the freedom we have enjoyed.” She said as her heart broke a little knowing he would be so far away from her.

“I will, but I will come back to you.” He gently kissed her forehead.

Suddenly she was cold, she could no longer feel his warmth. She opened her eyes and he wasn't lying with her. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. 

“Where have you gone?” She looked around the field, looking for his shadow. 

She couldn't find him. Her heart sped up, she felt so alone.

“Gavin! Come back to me!” She screamed into the night. She was beginning to get scared. He was nowhere to be seen.

“Gavin!!”

She could see flashes of light coming from his path. She raced to the path, chasing him. 

“Gavin! Come back! Please don't leave me” Tears had begun to fall from her eyes, wetting her cheeks. 

Her foot caught an old tree root sending her slamming into the ground. She whimpered and climbed to her feet and began her run through the forest after the man she loved. 

The light was getting closer. Finally, she caught up to the light and stopped. It wasn't Gavin. It was her brother. 

“Peter, what are you doing here? Have you seen Gavin? He was just here, in the field.” She was panting from the run and tears were still streaming down her face. She needed him.

Peter stepped to her and grabbed her in a tight embrace. “Claire, He's gone.”

“What do you mean he's gone? Where did he go? He said he would come back for me.” Her hysteria was building.
“Claire, he died, remember? He's gone. He's not coming back” He held her face still and looked into her eyes. 

“No! I heard him. He told me to meet him. We laid in the field and he told me our future. He moved the hair from my face.” She couldn't breathe. She had to go find him but Peter held her still.

“Claire, he was killed in combat. He's not coming back. You must have fallen asleep in the field. The wind blew the hair from your face.”
​
He caught her as her knees gave out when it all came rushing back, the funeral, the taps, the 21-gun salute.