Welcome to the forty-third in the series: 5pm Fiction.
Late April 2011 I discovered http://StoryADay.org and the project that is to write 31 stories in 31 days. Anyone who knows me or follows this blog, knows how passionate I am about short stories so my clichéd eyes lit up at this new marvel. And just a few days later there I was, breathing life into new characters. This went on to become (with some editing of course) my 31-story collection eBook Story A Day May 2011.
I was nearing completion of the 2012 project when I decided that I didn’t want to stop at the end of May so 5PM Fiction was born. I put a load of prompts on the 5PM Fiction page and today’s was to write a second-person viewpoint story involving a speeding car, so here is my 176-worder.
Her eyes have never been bluer
You saw her smile, right before your foot pressed down on the accelerator. That soon changed her expression, didn’t it? Didn’t think you had it in you, did she?
You’d tried before, different method; wrapped her favourite scarf round your wrists like you’d seen in the movies, only it was too big, too awkward, and she’d grunted and turned over, burying her neck in the pillow, leaving no clear skin exposed.
You’d stood there for ages, staring at her, looming over her skeletal frame, wasting away from the disease eating her inside out.
You’d finally had enough when she’d started refusing to eat, neither of you having the strength to argue. You loved her with all your heart, so you’d taken her to Devon, as you had every summer, to that little out-the-way place with the crumbling cliffs.
Any doubt you had disappears as the car gathers pace. She takes your left hand and squeezes it, and you look at her face. It’s no longer pale, no longer sallow and her eyes have never been bluer.
***
You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me. I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.
Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them) 
on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are weekly episodes, usually released Monday mornings UK time, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.
