Behind The Curtain: The Trapeze Swing

The twins are all eerie smiles,  pale hands, blonde hair. From my trapeze swing, I feel their gazes.

The only thing worse is the clawing, clawing, clawing on my legs, my ankles, my feet. Tearing through my stockings, sharp like razors.

Through my tears, I see them, the faces of demons and imps leering and sneering. Lips and teeth snapping and grazing, my vision is fading. Stinging, it's stinging but I must keep swinging.

The smoke smells sweet and rotten and cloying, I want to stop breathing, it's all overwhelming. Why do they watch me, why do they scratch me? I must keep swinging, not stopping, keep swinging.

It's kittens that scratch me, not imps, not demons. My legs are stinging, but I was wrong, it's only kittens.

My legs, my ankles, my feet are bleeding. I'm not swinging, I'm swaying. My thoughts are reeling.

The twins smile sweetly, hands pale, hair blonde. I'm not swinging, I'm swaying. Where's my swing? I'm resting.  On a cushion, hands folded, skirt pleated.

Still the smoke is sweet and rotten and cloying. Under the door it escapes, twirling and swirling, touching my nose in tendrils unfurling. 

The twins do not move, do not twitch, do not blink. The door opens and father tumbles and fumbles out with the smoke. The fellow who follows holds a pipe that is billowing. It's smell is sweet and rotten and cloying.
              

                  ****

This, my first piece of Flash Fiction, has been brought to you by The Dark Queene , Anna Meade. She waved her hawthorne wand and my mind became hazy. I signed up for this little contest, not truly to win it since the contenders are some of the sharpest scribes on the planet, but just to see what I could come up with.

Through the link below, you may visit the parties responsible for the heart-breakingly beautiful Flash Fiction I mentioned previously.

If you made it this far, thanks for checking it out, and have a fabulous weekend!

Contest details: 

I have included an inspiration board on Pinterest: Behind the Curtain. You are not required to use an image there, but I do encourage you to do so. If one does inspire you, please include it in your entry.

Your stories may be up to 400 words, but don't let that fool you. BREVITY is the soul of wit. Only include those words that allow you to tell a powerful story.

The contest opens at midnight EST on Oct 2 and continues till Midnight Saturday, October 13. That's less than 11 days, better get started.

Post your story on your blog and link up through the tool below. Be sure to include the appropriate code so people can read through the other entries from your blog. Read the other entries and comment - writers love the feedback.

Only a few other rules.

No fan fiction - original worlds only.
No erotica - seduction and sex is fine, but graphic descriptions should not be the focus of the story
----

1. Meg McNulty	2. Last Krystallos	3. Jeffrey Hollar
4. Mindy Williams	5. Cameron Lawton	6. Melanie Conklin
7. Angela Goff	8. Kate Nyaaba	9. Stacy Bennett-Hoyt
10. Paul Ramey	11. Mark Blackmore	12. JB Lacaden
13. Bullish	14. Sophie Moss	15. SJI Holliday
16. Mark Ethridge	17. Rachel Kall	18. Miss Bliss
19. Laura	20. Lori Fitzgerald	21. Victoria Pearson
22. Am McDonald	23. Angie Richmond	24. Promises - Jean
25. Keith B Walters	26. paul lonergan	27. Christina Krieger
28. Brewed Bohemian	29. Jules Vilmur	30. J. Whitworth Hazzard
31. Car	32. Rachel Stanley	33. jazzbumpa
34. Sarah Barry	35. Diane J. Reed	36. Chris Fitzner
37. Melanie Cole	38. Louise Sorensen	39. Sarah
40. Holly	41. Colin D Smith	42. Jessica Marcarelli
43. drmagoo	44. Vicki	45. Pepper Thorn
46. Dale S. Rogers	47. J.M. Blackman	48. Emmie Mears
49. Rebecca Fyfe	50. Patricia Paris	51. Raiscara Avalon
52. LittleWhiteDove	53. Afsaneh K	54. Jeff Tsuruoka
55. Laura Howard	56. Jo-Anne Teal	57. Miranda Kate
58. Alissa Leonard	59. Kenzie	60. Lillie McFerrin
61. Vicki Orians

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)