Teardrop diamond earrings glitter and blind and remind her of used-to-be’s.
She allows her thoughts to travel all the way to the edges of her mind—to that little-used place that feels dark and dangerous; sluggish and ponderous. There in that no-man’s-land, her mind will flirt with the truth—a truth that tries to sharpen and come into focus the way her eyes will strain after she plucks out her contact lenses in the morning and sits alone on the couch staring dumbly, numbly at the unformed shapes on the television set.
But it’s hard, holding onto the truth. It takes a strength she does not possess. Truth slips away. Deception is gentler.
She grabs the earrings from the dresser and leaves her apartment. She trips down three flights of metal stairs, slips her wedding ring from her finger, and steps onto the busy city streets.
She feels as shapeless—as effervescent—as television images seen by myopic eyes.
It takes the anonymity of the city to fill out her form.
This week's Trifecta Writing Challenge: The third definition of flirt in 33 to 333 words.
FLIRT verb \ˈflərt\
intransitive verb
1
: to move erratically : flit
2
a : to behave amorously without serious intentb : to show superficial or casual interest or liking <flirtedwith the idea>; also : experiment <a novelist flirting with poetry>
Labels: fiction Trifecta Writing Challenge