Hello everyone, I hope you're doing well! I've got a fun flash fiction short story for you this week. I've created a little world for this one. Here's what the prompt was:
Character 1: A person in their teens, who is shy.
Character 2: An woman in her 90s, who is never helpful.
Setting: The story begins at a canyon.
Situation: There is a snail orchestra.
Theme: The story is about isolation.
Action: Your character buys groceries.
I go to the store at the bottom of the canyon. I hate interacting with other people. I’m too old for this, honestly. The teen at the register gives me a small wave as I enter, but doesn’t say much. That’s fine, I like being alone.
The store is very quiet, the shelves lined with the lost objects of the human visitors to the canyon. A shiny pair of earrings is on a special display, but I go right to the groceries. I take grains and berries in little baskets woven from plastic wrappers, and a crumb of bread surrounded in the pieces of paper map. I grab a little butter packet and glass vial of water.
This’ll be enough for the rest of the week, though I can’t help but look at the rest of the store. There’s a pair of tin desks for sale I’ve never seen. They’re round, red, and smell salty. One has a plastic top, while the other has a tin top. I quite like my desk, it’s rectangular and smells of mint. I pass the clothing, noticing a paisley dress and denim pants. The shopkeeper must’ve found good scraps this week.
I bring my items to the counter and take out my bag.
“Looks like this will be... um...” the cashier mutters, counting all the items and referencing the price list. I wait quietly for her to finish.
“Um, seven rhinestones.”
I pass over a green rhinestone, expecting the cashier to make change quickly. She takes a while to give me my three red rhinestones, but I don’t rush her. I put my change in my bag and take my items, walking outside to go home. I enjoy the quiet the evening brings to the canyon, all of the campers have gone to sleep.
I hear a gentle music playing as I take the path home, seeing the restaurant has live music. I look and find a snail orchestra playing the classics. They have a small tip collection in a curled up leaf, so I give my change to them and listen for a while. I’ve not seen the snails in a while, but I do enjoy their music.
I head home as the darkness of night settles in, the quiet of my home is calming. I put the berries and butter in my icebox and head to bed.
I hope you enjoyed this little story. It's not my best, but I'm happy to share it with you anyway!
Have a great day,
Rosetta
Image By John Moeses Bauan
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