A hearty congrats to A.V. Carden, whose entry won this week’s Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge.
The voter-selected story is recognized with a special feature here today and wins a place in our 2014 Flash Fiction Anthology, which will be published as an e-book when this year’s challenges are completed.
Without further ado, here’s the winning story:
with white flowers
copyright KS Brooks
The Matchmaker
by A.V. Carden
I stretched out on the soft hay beneath the sky- light in the loft.
Thousands of stars adorned the velvet sky and I flushed at my own foolishness. What was I thinking?
Earlier, a sense of complete loneliness had overwhelmed me. Now, not only was I trespassing but maybe I was losing my marbles too.
Hands clasped behind my head I closed my eyes and sighed. The hayloft and the heavens at midnight were having a cathartic effect on me.
“Ouch!” A loud whisper below startled me. Peering over the edge I saw a woman silhouetted in the doorway.
I sat up and held my breath as she began climbing the ladder, grumbling as she did so.
When she scrambled onto the loft, a moonbeam revealed the most beautiful face I have ever seen. She saw me and her eyes widened.
“Er…Hello” I breathed.
“Hello. My car broke down and I fell over, twisted my ankle and ended up here…”
“Oh…” I mumbled idiotically.
“I hope you’re not a weirdo because I can totally kick your butt….”
“No, no. I’m looking at the stars.”
She cocked her head and regarded me for a moment with her expressive eyes before smiling,
“May I join you?”
I gestured for her to sit.
We lay and gazed at the canopy of twinkling lights above.
Two hours later we were holding hands and morning found us asleep in each other’s arms.
Today is our fifth anniversary. We are celebrating in old Pete’s barn.
Loved this story!
Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Congratulations on your win. I enjoyed your story.
Thank you, I’m so happy you enjoyed it. 🙂