Jaragua Flash Fiction Competition Winners
Hail the conquering heroes, the unsung sculptors of micro-fiction! Read here the winning entries from the SpinningLizard.co.uk Jaragua Flash Fiction Competition, which began in April 2009. For more details on the competition and the latest competition topic, visit the Forum via the link below.
Read about at discuss at the Forum
Previous Winning Entries:
—Quareen, by Louise Higden
Winner June/July 2009. Topic: Creature
Quareen
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In the silence of the night
stole the djinni of delight,
illuminated from within
the djinni slid from her to him
He was sleeping, body sore
From an evening with his whore,
Sticky, loaded with desire
They had made love in dusk like fire.
The creature from the Borderlands
Drank the sweat pooled in his hands
And used its teeth to nip his feet.
It deprived the bed of both its sheets
And contemplated sleeping too,
But there was little else to do;
like a restless saboteur
The djinni slid from him to her.
She was restless 'neath the moon,
Her eyelids moving in the gloom,
Her fingers fastened to the bed
As faceless spirits filled her head.
What could the creature do but leave
With only part their world perceived,
Viewing half the lives they led
And going hungry, then, instead?
*
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—Ninja (noun), by Joshua Rainbird
Winner May 2009. Topic: Ninja
NINJA (noun)
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hidden at midnight
katars puncture silk and flesh
an emperor falls
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—Feeling Rough, by Caroline Callaghan
Winner April 2009. Topic: Lizard
FEELING ROUGH
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Why me? thought Jen as she headed for bed. She had been diagnosed with chronic fatigue three months earlier. Exhaustion, pain, and even skin rashes had plagued her for several years. Today she felt particularly rough. Her legs were lead weights as she dragged herself up the stairs. Her skin itched. Her tongue was a lump of leather in her mouth. Thank heaven Matt understood and kept her going on her bad days.
"Coming to bed, love?" Matt called from the bedroom.
She grunted a reply; she was too tired to speak. Matt had jokingly said she was like a lizard; she had to bask in the sun every morning to soak up enough energy to move! She felt like a lizard now too, struggling to crawl upstairs on all fours as her legs wouldn't carry her. She lifted her hand to scratch the dry skin on her face. The hand looked strange in the dim light - grey and scaley. She tried to call out, but only a rasping hiss emerged.
As she finally reached the bedroom, she badly needed a cuddle from Matt. He leaned from the bed towards her, smiling. And then his expression changed. Was it surprise? Shock? Fear? He sunk back, glassy-eyed.
She just wanted a cuddle. She crawled towards Matt's now motionless body. As she turned her head to see him, her forked tongue flicked from her mouth. Realisation dawned. But I just wanted a cuddle, what remained of her human mind seemed to scream.
*