Ah, Unchangeable
A Rose for Emily
She remembered Faulkner’s story about the necrophiliac old woman. The out-of-order narrative comforted her, made her think she could fashion a love that strong and remain unchanged in its blush.
But she lived alone.
Her apartment took the brunt of her amorous spirit. She scrubbed the walls each week. Zapped dust bunnies with xenophobic zeal. Fixated on closet colors. And never was there a dish out of place, not even a dirty spoon.
At the museum, she stood before the hyper-real painting, desiring nothing more than to flip the fork onto its back and into its rightful place.
* * *
Thank you for reading! This is part of a micro fiction series where I take a photo and write a story inspired by it. Each story is 100 words.
Perhaps you'd like another...
About the Creator
Mackenzie Davis
“When you are describing a shape, or sound, or tint, don’t state the matter plainly, but put it in a hint. And learn to look at all things with a sort of mental squint.” Lewis Carroll
Find me elsewhere.
Copyright Mackenzie Davis.
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More stories from Mackenzie Davis and writers in Fiction and other communities.
- Finalist in 2023 Vocal Writing Awards - Flash Fiction
Impatiens for the Soul
Content Warning: Mention of mental illness Impatiens for the Soul D. A. Ratliff Looking down at the colorful blooms bursting out of their pots, I remembered when my mother and I first planted these together. A lot of water has flowed since then—water for the impatiens and tears for me.
By D. A. Ratliff4 days ago in Fiction
Comments (10)
What a little bombshell. You’ve got a perfect beginning that made me open this story up, and a perfect ending. Very clever to have her idiosyncrasies bookended by her reactions to literature and art.
Fan of your work! Keep it up- would love if we could support each others writing im Samuel-
She is me.
I found it amazing how this woman could admire fine art but all she seemed to see in it was a flaw. But it was a flaw by standard but her own. Great story!! I love the idea that you take a picture and write a micros fiction about it, I've heard of people doing it with poems but a mircofiction really speaks to your gift! 💜
Oh wow! I didn't know you were running this series, it sounds like fun on a bun! This piece was awesome and I fully admit, my first thought when I saw the fork was "someone needs to turn that rightside up"
Oh, wow. This is powerful. Microfiction is a challenge, since every word must work extra hard, and you have used some very choice words here. Can’t wait for more of this series!
Oh how I've missed this series! So happy to see you post this! I loved it so much!
Another rose for Emily! Very clever!
That picture. Is driving me to distraction.
Oo I love the tone of this. “Zapped dust bunnies with xenophobic zeal.” Is an awesome line!! Also, you took that picture?! That’s awesome! And I love the series idea