The Desert Church
Flash Fiction- 999 words
They say, when you die, you turn back into dirt. This is what I’ve been taught all my life. But our Mother, Planet Earth, is dying; and so must we if we want to save Her.
My name is Dominia Lorenz, and I belong to the Extinction Movement. We worship the Earth and Her many blessings of abundance and beauty. She is all knowing and superior to any living being that exists. Plants and wildlife have higher regard to us than any part of mankind, and our mission is to ensure all humans cease to exist in our lifetime.
Every year, we give the greatest honor to our elders by sacrificing them back to our Mother. They not only choose the form they take, but they also execute it themselves. We have many choose drowning; as a way to surround themselves one last time with her weight and power. My father chose fire.
With my role in the Movement being elevated this year as I am now twenty years old, it is now my turn to go outside of our walls and gather people. I am told that people outside the Movement are clueless to the destruction of our Mother, and in fact, causing it. They only think of themselves in their daily lives and I am also told, it will be shocking to see how they live.
As the gates of the Movement open, I am given a few words by an elder. “Dominia, you know my time is up soon.” I nodded in reply, mumbling about the great honor he would be receiving.
“No, that’s not true, Dominia. Nothing you’ve learned is true. I’m very sorry that I roped your parents into this, all those years ago.” I shook my head in disbelief, trying to interject that someone might hear his blasphemy.
“Dominia- it’s too late for me. I will go down with this ship; everyone’s minds here are already poisoned. But you- I want you to run from here. Run and run until you can’t- and never look back, ok?” For the first time in my life, I was overcome with emotion. He held out something to me, folded in paper- something our Movement was adamant against. I took it, out of the respect I had for him. In a swift movement, he pushed me outside of the gate, and slammed it shut.
I gathered my thoughts. Was there any truth to his words? I had never been outside the walls and only had a handwritten map made from memory of the last to explore. I was still holding what he gave me.
Rifling through the paper package, it appeared to contain many, if not hundreds, of small green papers with faces depicted on them, and denominations. From what little I’ve been taught about the outside world, I think this is the currency of the land, the thing that mankind would do anything for, including war against each other. And, for the first time in my life, I am overcome with fear that I am now a target for the same violence.
I walked for a half day in solitude. There were landmarks such as a twisted tree, a cow skull and a field of cacti that I passed, showing I was on the right stretch. But I came upon something that wasn’t supposed to be there; immediately hiding behind some large red rocks. There was a building, unlike anything I’d ever seen before, with a steep roof and a wooden marker on the top.
The sight sent me into a dizzying spiral that I was lost. I quickly dropped down into a prayer position and reached my hands up to the sun, praying to the Mother that she guide me out of this harsh land.
“No way! Are you one of those sun-worshipping cultists?” I jumped at the words, scaring me right out of my prayer. I slowly stood, turning to the voice behind me. When I looked at the young man, who was around my age, he was grinning ear to ear, holding out his hand to me. “My name is Devon Parker, and you must be my future wife.”
I didn’t know how to reply to his comment, so I opted for truthfulness. “We do not practice marriage as it leads to childbearing.” This set Devon into a fit of laughter and he managed to choke out words, “I was just teasing you, darlin’!” I felt my face redden.
Being the youngest of my Movement, by many years, I had never considered I would meet someone my own age. And, for twenty years, I’ve been warned that mankind cannot be trusted. They have evil ways, ideas and practices. However Devon had something unique that I had never seen in anyone from home. As he went on about himself, asking questions about my community but never giving me the chance to answer because he would excitedly think of another, more burning question, I finally put my finger on what it was that Devon possessed that was new to me: joy.
“Don’t answer that. None of it matters; what does matter, is the truth. Will you come to church with me?” He motioned to the building behind him; the one that I had been so alarmed to see, just moments ago.
“And why would I do that?” I snapped back at him. Church? I didn’t know what it meant.
“Because the creator wants you to be there.” He smiled, waiting for my rebuttal.
“Mother? I mean, Planet Earth?”
“No. The one who created the Earth. The one who created you, and everything around us. Look, I know what goes down where you come from. But God is love. Will you give it a try?”
I looked back at the desert behind me, remembering my home. “What is love?” I spoke into the void, into the Earth, and Dylan answered.
“It’s time you find out.” Smiling, he took my hand and led me into the church.
The National Enquirer
Flash Fiction- 332 words
“I’ve been lucky my whole life. Never had to work hard for anything, always in the right place at the right time. For as long as I can remember.” I was pleased with the eager young journalist visiting me at my beachfront home. She said she was doing a piece on success being a ‘state of mind’.
“So, you were saying, how does it feel to “have it all”? Her use of hand gestures at first felt like she was mocking me, but then I realized the truth. Looking her over, her shoes were cheap and her hair was messy. She was a fledgling writer for a small paper, probably unpaid. “Yes.. It feels incredible, and I am very thankful every day.” Smiling, I sipped down the last of my espresso from my best servingware.
She started to giggle as she wrote her notes, not again looking me in the eye. I had no idea what this meant, and frankly, it pissed me off a little.
“This should do. Thanks again, Mr. Thompson.” She packed up and left. I took a breath and kicked my shoes off for a walk on the beach outside.
A few weeks later, the paper came out that I was featured in. The cover story caught my eye. “Man in a mental hospital for paranoid schizophrenia says success is all around him.” A title like that begged to be read. ”..he walks around in a sand pit, drinking out of dixie cups, talking about living at the beach..” My eyes trailed down to the crease in the paper, his photo was printed on top of it. Hmm. He looks familiar, where did I know him from?
Suddenly I was exhausted, and my body was tingling, as my maid tapped me on the shoulder.
“Dan, its time to take your pills.”
Martha, so considerate, always makes my life easier. I really should give her a raise.
“Thank you, please pay my bills. You know where my pocketbook is.”
Cliff
Flash Fiction- 464 words
“Honey, wake up! You are screaming in your sleep!” I woke up to my husband shaking me. I was having a nightmare- the same I always have, but this time I was about to take the stand.
“Were you hearing the verdict?” He knows me so well. After 10 years together, and half that married- you start to remember things.
“Oh, well, I was actually about to testify.” I groaned and turned over while Cliff slid out of bed to walk the lake, his every morning ritual. He asked me to join him almost everyday, but today I walked out without another word.
Nine years ago I was arrested for first degree murder. It tore my life apart, consuming my relationship with Cliff, my parents disowned me and I lost everything. Cliff was the only thing I had and I will never forget how he stood by me through the trial, the jail time and finally- the acquittal.
You see, the person who was murdered was my ex husbands mistress. Sure, I had all the probable cause in the world, so I was the pick of the litter when the finger pointing came around. My ex, Trent, was a miserable shrew, but I loved him. We’d been together since grade school and I knew we’d be together forever.
Trent was great on paper. Hard working, a wizard with numbers. He was the star accountant for a big corporation. We had a very comfortable life in New Jersey. We’d vacation in the Hamptons; we had a boat in the harbor.
I had my doubts about his fidelity to me; the late nights, the business trips. But I never thought he would actually go through with it. Thought he was better than that. However, the horrible truth was: he was just that predictable.
Trent served me with divorce papers the day before I met Cliff. An absolute wreck, I was sobbing in the stacks in the library when he turned the corner to see if I was alright. I told him I was particularly touched by Mr Darcy- and at that, he extended his hand to shake mine. There was no point in sharing my history with him at any time of our courtship- though he knew I was going through a divorce. It wasn’t until Trent’s mistress was found that he knew the full extent of what had happened.
Orange was not my color, but Cliff visited me like a saint praying to an angel. He never let me give up hope, and I am forever grateful. When that acquittal came, for damaged evidence, I sang to the heavens.
The killer is the real victim here. To feel so much pain, to feel so betrayed your forced to murder in cold blood. I should know.
