Flash fiction of 500 words or less, all fantasy subgenres welcome.
Fallen
It’s only a mile from the surface down to the cavern, but the weight of guilt and blame make it feel so much longer. The sand rubs roughly against my calloused feet. The grains whisper softly against one another as they shift and move beneath me. It’s the only sound down here other than the slow steady throb of my breathing. Even the steady trickle of water is stilled. He sleeps.
I move into the cavern quietly. The thick roots of the Heart Tree stretch from the top of the cavern, wrapping tightly around his wrist. His back is to me, deep shadows beneath his jutting shoulder blades, ripples of muscle down either side of his spine. His thighs are still the size of my waist though he has hung here for millennia. God’s don’t waste away.
He’s spinning slowly, and now I can see his flat stomach rippling like gently disturbed water, his triceps bulging to bursting under the pressure of holding his weight for so long. His penis lies flaccid between dangling feet, cradled in an auburn nest. For a lightning flash, I remember it moving inside me, his chest pressed against mine. The memory burns where it touches and I shove it it aside. Such thoughts serve neither of us now.
I move close, falling to my knees just below him, setting the golden bucket beside me. The sand is dry, I let too much time pass since my last visit. No doubt they are suffering down below. But what’s their suffering to his?
I look up at him and struggle against the tsunami of guilt and blame that washes over me. I can see his face now. Short red hair, beard covering his cheeks, chin, and the area between his nose and upper lip. I used to kiss those lips, in the time before.
The damn in my chest breaks, I drown in loss and regret as I reach out, placing one finger gently against the inner arch of his foot. His slow spinning comes to a halt, and I stare up into his face as his eyes slide open.
My eyes beg for forgiveness and bathe him with love. His emerald eyes widen, as they always do, and fill with tears as he gazes down at me. Great tears well and fall, dripping down his beautiful body until they fall onto my own hand, trickle down my arm, and drip from my elbow into the golden bucket, only to vanish seconds later. I hear the sigh of relief as rain falls on the mortal realms below, but it brings no comfort now. The cost is too high.
This was the deal, agreed to and signed so long ago. My own hubris brought us to this, and now the finger of blame has turned back on me. I’m more than willing to offer myself, to take his place, to end it all, but that was not the deal, and I’m not the one who signed.
~ end ~




Wow, that's some powerful imagery. This needs to be a full story!
Maybe... I've got no idea what the rest of the story would be at this point, but stories often have to steep in the unconscious for awhile before they can take shape out in the world. :)
Hey I love your piece. Do you happen to know the word count? I like the movement of the piece and imagery you've created :) would you mind if I used this or part of this as an example for an essay that I'm writing for my degree? It would be referenced under your user name and date as published here on imzy... feel free to say no :)