Today my wee advent gift to you is a story by my friend, author Jacquie Pearce. Jacquie writes fiction for children and teens, as well as very short poetry and prose for adults. She can often be found wandering Vancouver, collecting photos and story ideas. You can find out about all the cool books she has written HERE, and you can follow her on twitter @jacquieink. There will be one more flash of Jacquie’s story-telling brilliance here in this advent collection, so watch for it!
Fight or Flight
The girl perched on the roof peak.
From here, she could look out over the tops of the other houses to the green fields of the park and the wild trees beyond. She’d been coming up here ever since she was big enough to climb out the window of the bedroom she shared with the other foster children. At first it had been a place to get away ─a hiding spot all her own. She’d never been afraid of the height. But now there was something else.
An urgency.
Lifting her face to the cool, night air, she could sense the presence. It was like a tiny curl of smoke on the horizon. Yet, she could see and smell nothing. Still, there it was, teasing the back of her throat and making her want to cough. She felt its menace growing. Whatever it was, it was getting closer.
Something caught the girl’s attention on the edge of the park –a small black movement against the dark sky. A bird perhaps. The girl’s shoulder blades prickled where she imagined her own wings sprouting. She hoped there would be enough time.
***
For the month of December, my goal is to post a piece of festive flash fiction here to the blog every day. Twenty-five stories, each 250 words or fewer — a little fictional festivity to brighten the darkest month of the year. For readers, I offer these stories as a moment of peace within a hectic month of busy. And writers? If you’d like to join me, I’ll feature any flash fiction you’d like to share!
More soon…
~kc