Crooked Smile – Flash Fiction

Posted byChristine BoltonPosted inBlog, Flash FictionTags:, , , ,

Crooked Smile

She had known pain.  Living with her like a constant companion.  Sometimes nudging, often poking.  Always reminding her of its presence.

The hurt ever-present. Over time festering in her heart, she would lance it like a boil.  Easing out the poison stopping it traveling to her very soul.  Concentrating on this familiar task helped her through another day.

The pain reminded her she was alive. Without it, dead.  To the observer, she was a hamster on a wheel continuously moving, going nowhere, caught in a vicious cycle.  That is how I remembered her.

Now returning to that place I see her vacant look gone.  Replaced with shining eyes I’d never noticed before. Knowing instinctively what happened to the pain she carried.  She’d had it sliced away, leaving a scar, and she wore it proudly on her face in the form of a crooked smile.

Copyright © 2022 Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing
All Rights Reserved

Prosery Monday at D'Verse is hosted tonight by Sarah from SarahSouthwest.  She
has given us a line from a poem by Michael Donaghy.
"She’d had it sliced away, leaving a scar"
We are to use it in exact order in our piece of fiction of exactly 144 words.

Published by Christine Bolton

I have been writing poetry since I was a child and it has helped in the good times and bad times. I am always looking within to find the answers to life's problems and to write thought-provoking poetry and prose. Thanks for checking it out. Christine

25 thoughts on “Crooked Smile – Flash Fiction”

  3. There are some great images here, and a real insight into the way pain isolates. I’m glad she ended up smiling, even if that smile was a little crooked.

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    1. Yes isn’t that true Laiba. We don’t recognize what we have become. Thank you ☺️💕

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    1. Thank you Darnell. Yes also any kind of abuse can affect the mental state too. Hope you’re doing well ☺️💕

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  7. Such a poignant gentle spin on the line, Christine. That last line brought a tear to my eye.

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      1. Thank you Lisa! I pm happy you liked it ☺️💕 Yes those computer goblins are back anonymously 🙁

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  8. I liked this a lot. Pain can sometimes give us an illusion that it’s all there is. It’s only when you get past it, do you truly feel alive. The shine in her eyes says a lot.

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