Every Detail Perfect

Every detail was perfect. Will I wake now, and find none of it was real?

A susurration of laughter, music, and clinking glasses tinkled on the sea-breeze, and a spectacular sunset dripped honey on the gleaming deck.

Harper drank it all in, keen to fix this sparkling memory in her mind forever.

The sun had smiled, rather than beat down on them. It could easily have turned everyone shiny-pink like cheap hams, and made sweat pool under her dress. Which, by the way, clung provocatively to her figure in all the right places. Her hairdresser had done a terrific job with the chignon. Jamie looked gorgeous in his suit. The wedding breakfast had been delicious, not too heavy. Harper wanted to enjoy it without feeling sluggish and bloated. The chef, for all his hooky nose, tubby body, and the boil on his neck, had pulled out every stop. The guests made a good-looking group, but of course none of them, not even Jamie, looked as good as her. The gift table creaked under an expensive weight.

The sun slipped lower, the music onboard swelled and the drinks flowed.

A scream shattered the scene, tore the curtain in two and laid bare what was behind. They found her stock still, staring, her elegant white dress and veil spattered scarlet. The young man lay at her feet with one of his own knives protruding from his chest, several more knife wounds in his belly, and his face and neck a mess of lacerations. Blood seeped into the wood. Will it ever come out?

Of course, back on shore, the police questioned her. There was an attacker, she said. It all happened so fast. I didn't get a good look at him. They questioned the guests, hoping to find a connection to the victim, a motive.

More interesting, they uncovered a lack of connection with the bride. Not one of them was related to her, or knew her from school or work. They'd been hired for their looks.

"I shouldn't have done it," Harper whined to Jamie at last when they arrested her. "My beautiful dress is ruined. Ugly. And I only wanted beautiful things on my special day."

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Word count excluding note: 366 Submitted on Thursday 25th July at 23.09

*Very Quick Author's Note* First of all, and most importantly: thank you so much for reading my story! The ha'penny that Vocal will toss in my hat for your eyeballs landing on this humble piece will be well-spent. If you enjoyed this one, the very best compliment you can give me is to share it, or read another! A Year of Stories: I'm writing a story every day this year. This one continues my 207 day streak since 1st January.

Please do consider lending your support to the other creators who are also on this madcap "a story every day" adventure. They are putting out excellent content every day!

Rachel Deeming

Gerard DiLeo Please do leave me a comment. I try to reciprocate as many as I can. Leaving a comment makes that easier.

The story behind the story: I was actually mulling on a whodunit style story for the Overboard challenge when I came up with this. I'm still working on that, and it'll be quite different, so should still be worth a look when I finally put it up.

Thank you! Thank you again, most sincerely. Especially if you are one of the wonderful people who has been staunchly reading these daily scribbles since the start of the year. I see you, and appreciate you very much indeed!