Continuing the microflash prompts on our local creative writing group’s Facebook page, I found this photo from our time in Washington. It’s not the best picture, taken with my cell phone in the underground beneath the city, but the light and colors sparked my imagination and I knew I had to use it.
Microflash pieces are tiny, just 100 words, making them long enough to present the bones of a story but short enough to post in the comments of a Facebook page. This makes the second prompt, posted about a month after the first, so I haven’t completely forgotten about it.
If you want to play along, post your response in the comments below, on my Facebook page, or your own space and link back. It really is challenging to squish a story into so few word,s and challenges can be fun.
The prompt is, of course, the picture below – The glass grates put into the sidewalks to provide light to the underground paths of Seattle, WA. Photo taken by me on one of the tours (which are super cool).
Waiting
94/100 Words
I stared up at the light filtering through the colored glass. It really was beautiful. The flickering kaleidoscope of colors filtering in and the hushed silence of the darkened underground gave the world a surreal, reverent air. Even the sound of people and cars passing overhead were muted here. I shivered and reached behind me, clutching my daughter’s hand. There was such hope in the pauses, when light was just light chasing away the shadows.
Then, the light faded.
Darkness fell.
And the brilliant flash of another bomb lit our hidden sanctuary once more.