SurlyMuse Blog Hop - A Beautiful Place to Die

I talk about writing all the time; I even post really bad poetry for my own amusement.  But I rarely share my prose, even with the Hubby.  It's a scary thing being critiqued.  Especially for us Type A-ers.  And especially for me since I always seem to go dark (not sure what's up there).

At any rate, I'm throwing in my lot and posting what is called "Flash Fiction" - short fiction telling a fast story in under so many words.  I am mainly doing this because my friend over at SurlyMuse is awesome and found the best inspiration picture ever.  I am partly doing this because I need to just suck it up regardless of the giant ball of panic in my stomach.  Either I'm a writer or I'm not, right? <Bleh>

So the details, Surly Muse and others set up a blog hop for writers using the below picture.  Basically you write a piece of flash fiction, poem, or song (300 words or less) using the photo as your inspiration.  (Click here for the full details)

Without further adieu, the picture and my prose. <eeek! hides face in terror>.

 

Photo by Luis Beltran via surlymuse.com

The light bounced off the fog and trees with an eery glow.  Jan had rigged the light using her cell phone battery so she knew it wouldn’t last long. Still, it was better than the pitch black forest.  The light would pinpoint her exact location but she was too exhausted and frightened to care.  It was out there and it would find her with or without the light.  Now that the bulb was secured in the trees like a steampunk artist’s vision, she looked around.  Jan found herself standing in a sea of wildflowers. There was a time this place would have been a beautiful secret for her to share as she saw fit.  Today, it was simply a beautiful place to die.  Funny how fast life changed.

Jan sat in the flowers directly beneath the light.  The fragrance was almost too intense with her nose just inches from the growth but it smelled like home, like cinnamon and apples.  She brushed her hands gently across the top of the flowers, watching the petals ripple like the water of her home planet.   Jan found her ragged breath slowing, her body calming.  She hated this planet and wanted to go home.  But experience whispered in her head, this would be the last adventure. So she focused her thoughts on everything she missed about Earth.

She heard it then, the small snap of a twig.  It had found her.  But she was done running.  She had run through too many galaxies, across too many worlds, between too many trees just like these.  It was in those trees now, stalking her from above.  She refused to look up.  Instead she focused on a single white flower.  The light went out and Jan closed her eyes - it really was a beautiful place to die.
Right, so don't judge.  At least not too harshly. o.O

I know it's not a recipe or a book review and I promise not to do it often.  AND I promise a fab blueberry jalapeno recipe tomorrow and bookclub updates this weekend.  So don't delete me just yet!