'I
went out to the hazel wood because a fire was in my head.'
Dawn in Bend ~~ Helen Dehner, Photographer
I awakened that snowy morning, memories flooded my brain, combined with an all-consuming gut-wrenching guilt. I went out to the hazel wood because a fire was in my head ~ inferno of my own making.
Must I tell him there is a man who knows more of me than all the rest. How we met in May when flowers bloomed and gentle breezes touched our very souls. How wine was cool, sparkled sweet, how we laughed ~ never wanted that day to end.
How we made love on a blanket, under the setting sun. Laughing, loving ~ loving ~ loving. Starved, parched, drinking each other in, we filled every pore. He will never know ~~ there is a man who knows more of me than all the rest.
I love the way you added " - an inferno of my own making" Just perfect for the story.
ReplyDelete"Starved, parched, we drank each other in, filling every pore." the passion is visceral here. Ah yes.....he will never know of this other. An affair kept secret over years and years perhaps? Sometimes that kind of accumulated secrecy can have a way of spilling out! A second chapter to the tale perhaps?
An all-consuming guilt, all the more so because the man with whom she is consumed is the only one who understands and knows her. Love the realism that comes through here, so well done.
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely stunning, Helen!💝 I too love the addition "I went out to the hazel wood because a fire was in my head ~ an inferno of my own making." A perfect summation of what was to follow.
ReplyDeleteI like how you made the confession, fleshed it out, then repeated it as your conclusion.
ReplyDeleteThe conflict is so vivid. Tension from beginning to end.
ReplyDeleteDearest Helen,
ReplyDeleteBet your excellent flash fiction story is a real 'inferno in the head' for many... Glad I've never had to live with one!
Hugs,
Mariette
Oooo-la-laaaaa
ReplyDeleteGee! I can't wait to read the whole book! It is the preface for a novel, isn't it???
ReplyDeleteHelen,
ReplyDeleteI am loving how you used the word 'loving' 3x despite the word limit. Your words flowed magnificently and believably.
-David
I love the way you condensed an affair into a hazelnut shell, Helen, with all of its emotions and heat, despite the snowy morning! The phrase ‘an inferno of my own making’ is a clever twist to the prompt line, and the repetition of ‘there is a man who knows more of me than all the rest’ emphasises both the passion and the guilt.
ReplyDelete'an inferno of my own making' is absolutely right, but, wow: what a fire!
ReplyDeleteI love the confession of "an inferno of my own making" added to the prompt line. This is such a lyrical piece, but full of love, longing, and anguish.
ReplyDeleteTo drink in, to taste, and be all-consumed. But does the guilt lie in the fact that there is no guilt? Not in the act of love, but in the desire for it again.
ReplyDeleteI love how you tied the love to the seasons, both its waning and its waxing... really good.
ReplyDeleteVery well written! and a great mystery from beginning to end.
ReplyDelete