Walk the Plank- July

Over at YA Buccaneers, we're drumming up excitement around writing flash fiction. I've never tried to write flash fiction before, but I'm game to try just about anything once...so we'll see how this goes. (Post Script: 200 words is HARD! I wrote more like 400 and then had to trim it down. Which saddens me, because I had to trim out the tasty bits.)

Walk The Plank is our monthly Flash Fiction challenge - in other words, write a short snippet that makes the biggest impact. The goal: Write a story in 200 words or fewer, excluding the title, around the monthly theme.

THIS MONTH'S THEME: ADVENTURE

Who's not up for a little adventure? Here's the lowdown on the rules:

1. Write a short flash fiction story in 200 words or fewer, excluding the title, around this month's theme of ADVENTURE!
2. For an extra challenge, begin your story with the words, “I set sail” (these three words will be included in the word count).
3. And for an even bigger challenge, use the same beginning words and end with the words: "my adventure continues!" (also included in the word count).
4. For those who want to prove their Flash Fiction prowess, hit all of the above challenges, PLUS, make your story 200 words EXACTLY!

Don't forget to cruise by YA Buccaneers and post your blog link in the comments section. There's Pirate Treasure and Prizes up for grabs too, so I dare you Walk The Plank!

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The silent, bright death of stars

I set sail under cover of darkness, pushing the boat into the shallow, black water. There was little wind. The Earth held its breath as if before a storm. The air heavy with anticipation, matched the pressure in my chest. The only sound the hollow licking of the waves against the body of the boat.

“Were you seen?”

“I don’t think so.”

Even with the distance, we kept our voices low. He had more to fear than I. If we were discovered, I’d be cast out, whipped perhaps. He’d be killed in the mud like a diseased animal. He touched my face with his fingers. This simple gesture he could never do in public, made my insides collapse like a waterfall at my feet. I closed my eyes. He led me by the fingers like a child who would be lost. His skin underneath my hands was dark and strange. I kissed the brand that marked him the property of another man. I glanced to see if he would view this gesture with horror, but his face wore an expression of curious wonder that my lips would touch his skin. And my kiss, it left a different sort of brand. 

There is a secret language that bodies speak, that makes two people disappear into one. And then into nothing. There are things unspoken that make the world disappear and hang in the sky like a star that would fall in silent, fiery destruction.