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.

 

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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

 

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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.