Flash Fiction: Waves of Madness by Cathy MacKenzie
Welcome to the Spot Writers’ weekly flash fiction post. This month’s prompt is “into the void.” Today’s post comes from Cathy MacKenzie. Check out the teen anthology she recently published (under her imprint, MacKenzie Publishing), 21 stories by 21 writers, titled OUT OF THE CAVE. Available on Amazon and Smashwords.
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Waves of Madness
We bare our breasts
before diving into the depths.
In the dark it’s warm, yet we are chilled.
It’s the plunge that does it.
The suddenness sucks our breath
until the cold overtakes and numbs us
and we think we’re warm.
We spread our arms
and embrace vast waters as if flying
through layers of billowing silk
on a hot summer’s day.
Or maybe it’s our bodies
unwrapping from layers
of inhibition and shame
while floundering through waves
treacherous and thunderous.
There’s no life preserver
and we think we’re drowning,
even want to drown
to avoid suffocation by seaweed.
We see sharks,
forcing ourselves to stretch our arms
and kick our legs .
We hold our breath without swallowing,
taming tides crushing our hearts,
and when we drink the sea we spit it out
so we don’t choke.
We swim another lap
and another and another
before waves shroud us forever,
thankful we took the plunge
because it was all we knew to do
other than die and disappear.
We want to live and
keep our families safe
but waves of madness grip us all in the end.
***
The Spot Writers—Our Members:
RC Bonitz: http://www.rcbonitz.com
Val Muller: https://valmuller.com/blog/
Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/
Tom Robson: https://robsonswritings.wordpress.com
***
Have you read The Spot Writers’ first book? Check out the just-released Remy’s Choice, a novella based on a story we wrote a while back. It’s available at Amazon for only $1.99 e-book and $5.99 print. Remy, just out of a relationship gone wrong, meets handsome Jeremy, the boy next door. Jeremy exudes an air of mystery, and he seems to be everything she’s looking for. While Remy allows herself to indulge in the idea of love at first site, she realizes she’s the girl next door according to her boss, Dr. Samuel Kendrick.
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