Flash! Friday: Besieged

by Michael Seese

Only one entry for Flash! Friday this week. My Friday was a little weird. I worked from home, because the kids were ff school. So I didn't get to go to the gym, where I often write my stories, between the breaks of pain. Then, after dinner, we had to go buy a microwave because the old one conked out. To top it off, there was a water main break in front of our house, so we can't drink the tap water without boiling it. If my dog had died, I could have written a country song about  my day.

But I still write one.

The prompt was The Iliad.

The story elements to use in our exactly 150-word story were:

* Conflict: man v man (not gender specific)
* Character (choose one): a prideful superhero, a hot-tempered king, a mighty warrior, a soothsayer, the most beautiful woman in the world, the kidnapped daughter of a priest
* Theme (choose one): the glory of war, mortality, fate vs free will, friendship
* Setting: a besieged city
We also could have used this picture:

I came up with "Besieged."

The day started with morale low, and sinking rapidly. News filtered through the ranks that the attack was imminent. Through the haze, we could just make out the enemy, moving freely outside the walls.

Many among the populace tried to go about their business, swimming through their daily routines, seeing sanctuary in their little bubbles. I could not.

An uneasy silence settled upon us, slithering across our skin. Then, a wave of dread washed over as he advanced. Closer. Closer. The women huddled in the castle. I thought about my children, safe in their school. For now. At that moment I vowed to fight to the bitter end... la fin amère. The sky opened. Terror rippled through the city as the aerial assault commenced.

"Have no fear, my brothers!" I yelled. "We will rise above this."

Tumbling rounds began drifting down.

Rounds? Ooh! Shrimp flakes AND algae wafers!

"We surrender!"

So until next week, or I have something interesting to talk about....

Without Sin

by Michael Seese

So you know the drill with the Janet Reid contests. Write a (at most) 100-word flash using five key words. This week, the words were:

signal
hour
crane
collapse
homer

I made a conscious effort to try something different... to use the words in unexpected ways. As Janet always explains.

You must use the whole word, but that whole word can be part of a larger word. The word must appear as that whole word however.

Example: Signal/signals is ok but crane/cranberry is not. 

So I looked to see what I could do with "hour" and found the word houri, which Merriam-Webster defines as:

1:  one of the beautiful maidens that in Muslim belief live with the blessed in paradise
2:  a voluptuously beautiful young woman

From there the story fell into place. Here is "Without Sin."

She was a singular beauty, what the locals call a "houri." Even the great Homer would have been at a loss for words.

A crowd had gathered. They were cheering. I craned my neck for a better look. I should not have. But I succumbed to a baser facet of human nature.

Voyeurism.

I couldn’t understand a word of the man’s rabid invective. His stone was the first, and signaled that the orgy of violence could begin. She collapsed in a heap.

I wanted to say something. To stop the madness. But I dared not. For I am equally guilty.

If I may blow my own horn, I'm pretty proud of this one.

Also, I just learned that my entry for Three Line Thursday was named the winner.