This Flash Fiction was written for #FictionMonday, a blog hop hosted by Vinitha Dileep on her blog, ‘Reflections‘ based on the word prompt ‘Remember’.
REMEMBERING
She sat by the porch at the wee hours of the morning, only to find herself reliving it all over again…Not the happy memories, but the stings, the pain, the heartaches. Tears welled up unannounced.
It was all so clear in her memory, that she could strip her soul bare to the buff, and tell you the story behind each of the scars—even the tiniest ones. If she were a writer, she’d have strung together words, thoughts and emotions to weave them into a novel—from those big scars. And there could be endless short stories from those tiny ones—the ones that she’s been brushing aside, systematically, over the years. Twenty-four years seemed like a long time to even try to forget everything that had gone wrong with her life. Or should it be—their lives?
Even a little talent would do if she were to be a writer, but the real challenge now was the ability to remember the story behind every single scar, before she could pen down her story.
Years of pain had numbed her soul and erased her memories, even though, she still had flashes from the past visiting every now and then. On the days that she felt brave, she went scouring down the labyrinth of her mind, through dark alleys and ragged pathways, scrounging every sliver of memory, including those that she had dunked in her tears and drowned within her caged soul.
On most days, courage failed her as she strove to put pen to paper. But when the first rays of the dawn arrived on her porch each morning, hope glimmered.
On the other days, she reminded herself—
“Remember to breathe”.
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How beautiful you’ve expressed the power of writing to help us gather our thoughts, to express our pain and to rekindle hope within.
Oh that ending… I really felt that. Such a poignant tale. Some scars take a lifetime to go away. But that doesnt mean we can’t be strong.
Thanks so much, Raj. So glad to know you too believe in hope. I fervently pray she can get over this.
Gave the goosebumps Eesha! Very well written!
Thanks a lot, Archana. So lovely to see you stop by the blog after a long time. 🙂
Breathe. And get over those moments that gave you so much heartache.
But, can we ever get over the heartache? The pain? The sorrow?
I know what you mean, Shilpa. I think people wish to forget the pain and move on but there will always be those who won’t let us forget what they did to us, right?
My heart aches for her, Esha. How poignantly have you expressed her feelings! The last line sums up it all so well – Remember to breathe. Some days that’s all we can do. Some days that’s all that need to be said.
Happy to read your touching story on #fictionmonday, Esha. I hope to read your story for next week’s prompt as well. 🙂
Thank you so much, for giving us this lovely prompt, Vinitha! I feel so chuffed to hear you say you liked my tale this week. I’m going to write something this week too. I’m not letting my self-doubts stop me from joining in. 🙂
Some days remembering to breathe is the best thing you can do for yourself! Breathe and take a moment for yourself.
Thank you so much, Damyanti. Breathing and catching up to pause is one thing that keeps us all going, isn’t it? So good to see you stop by and share your thoughts on the blog. 🙂
Breathe yes, and the fact that our breath moves with us, is what counts.
Poignant narrative, dear Esha. But not sans the hope.
Absolutely, dear Natasha! So easy to take our breath for granted, isn’t it? And yet, if done right, it can make such a big difference in the way our minds and bodies work.
Thank you very much, Natasha. I needed to write just as much as my character needed to breathe. So glad to see you stop by the blog. 🙂
Wow! Loved the way it ended. Remember to breathe.
Thank you, Sunita. Some days breathing is all we do, to stay sane, right?