Tuesday, 14 August 2018

Flash fiction (22): Moral code


Flash fiction written for JD Mader's 2minutes go writingexercise... It's every Friday-Sunday, so if you fancy writing something - whatever you feel like - head over there, or just read the flash fiction and poetry.



Moral code

Come what may, those are the lessons we have to learn, he stated, settling too long on the word “morality”. The room spun on a revolving desk woven with autumnal leaves; a veritable feast of reds, oranges and yellow, sliding like liquid ink towards the swirl of the thick carpet, in contrast to the hollow beige of the man, from his wispy hair to his sharp suit, far too short in the leg. Did he actually wink at me as he spoke, the curl of his lips seeming to reveal something else? 

I looked again and the colourful cloth resumed its everyday appearance, but the flaming red still sounded a warning. I backed away towards the window and the rigid black ornamental feline perched there. As Mr Brown strode towards the door, the cat’s stiffness slunk away and she sank down on the sill, back into Sphinx mode, eyeing me in empathy. I could have sworn she smiled. 

Once he’d left, I took the sealed, stamped letter out of my pocket and reread the stick blue scrawl, asking for Elizabeth Main. So she hadn’t forgotten me over these nine long, silent months. Her confinement at an end, it was only a matter of days before she’d walk through the front door and everything could go back to normal, and he’d be sent packing whence he came.


Copyright Vickie Johnstone, June 1, 2018

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