Flash Fiction Challenge

 Happy Friday!

I'm participating in Rachelle's Flash Fiction Challenge held over on her blog, The Ink Loft.

Each person taking place in the challenge both receives and gives a prompt to another participant.

The prompt that I got from Leanne was to create a story off of the song Another Day in Paradise by Phil Collins. (Link leads to the lyrics)

--------------------


     Snowflakes fell from the sky. The wind hurled itself every which way. It was a kind of night where going outside was not a good idea. It was a night where people were in their house, curled by the fire, sipping a cup of cocoa with Christmas carols in the background. It was a kind of night where your outfit consisted of pajamas and fuzzy slippers. It was a kind of night where you wrapped yourself up into your own world and shut yourself from the outside.
     Not everyone had that privilege. A certain girl knew that feeling well. On this particular evening she was stranded in the view of my house, wearing ripped and tattered clothes, hanging off of her body. Her hair was in knots, and her feet barren of shoes. I watched from my corner of paradise in my warm, heated house. I watched from the window as a man walked past the girl. He didn’t spare her much more than a glance, his shoulders hunched and his hands buried deep in his coat’s pockets.
     The girl’s face was desperate. Her trembling hands lifted in a gesture of help before placing them around her arms, a shiver racking her body, causing her to curl up in a ball.
     A gust of wind beat against my house. I pulled my sweater around my arms, as if the wind was having an impact on the temperature inside.
     “Sir!” She called out, “Can you help me? It’s cold and I’ve got nowhere to sleep. Is there somewhere you can tell me?”
     He paused, and then walks on, he didn’t look back. He started to whistle as he crossed the street, something about him tells me he’s embarrassed to be there.
     I set down my coffee, sinking onto my couch. The girl’s face was tear-stained, and no doubt her feet were tortured with blisters. She couldn’t walk though she was trying.
     What would I do if I was in the man’s place? What would I do if a ragged girl called out to me, begging for help. I looked around at my house, I couldn’t allow such a girl as her into my paradise, could I?
     I glanced back towards the girl. She was on her hands and knees now, pleading for the man’s mercy. You could tell from the lines on her face, you could see that she’s been there. Probably been moved on from every place, because she didn’t fit in there.
     I wouldn’t have time to care for a girl.  I couldn’t allow her to stay with me. People would think me weird and crazy.
    The man was out of distance from the girl by now. I scowled at him. Wasn’t there nothing more he could do? Wasn’t
there something more he could say?
    A voice seemed to tug at my insides, spiking guilt into my mind. Was there anything you could do? Wasn’t there
something you could say? My stomach squirmed. I dared another look at the girl. She was hunched over, her body shaking with sobs. Pity flashed through me. Poor soul. I wanted to help her, but yet I had a job, I had a life… Could I commit to this?
     The image of the man whistling with his hands in his pockets, ignoring the girl ignited a fire in me. I may have once been an image of that man, but I would be no longer. I threw on a jacket and walked out the door with my pink slippers. I almost slipped on the steps with my quick pace of determination, but I caught myself before I could’ve fallen. The cold air wrapped around me like a clinging blanket. I shivered, looking at the girl’s garments. How had she survived this long?
     “Girl!” I half-walked, half-jogged across the street to get to her. What was I doing?
     She raised her head no more than an inch, her emotionless eyes boring into mine.
     I knelt by her side, putting my hand under her arms, “What’s your name?”
     It took a moment before she spoke, and when she did, her words came out rough, “Maria.”
     “Maria....Come with me.” I steadied her as we made our way back across the street, slowly, “I’m going to get you a bath, clean clothes, food, and somewhere to sleep.”
     Her eyes widened the slightest bit. I smiled a proud little smile to myself, glancing to where the man just disappeared out of us. Think twice, man. I thought to myself. Not everyone lives in such a paradise as you.

Thanks for reading!
Byeeeee,
Katie.