SixContest Winners! Our top 6 “firsts” in six words

Watched, only by his pale reflection.

BY NeilSlevin on August 25, 2013
0 | 0 Favorites
An Unwanted Flashback I
His mind was blank, numb;
frozen like gloveless hands on a winter’s morning.
And then it hit him.
Crystal clear memories came flooding back;
an overflowing river bursting its banks
to drown the ill-prepared-
and unsuspecting- village in the valley below.

He had been fortunate enough to forget;
some unknown, force of grace
had wiped his conscience clear
into blissful dark and silence.
A silence slain by shrieking laughter, shouting,
and sudden screaming.
At once he saw and knew everything.

Colour exploded before his eyes:
pitch-black, dark green, blinding white;
all submerged by scarlet pillows. Spreading.
Silence returned:
both grave- and louder-
than anything that had gone before.
Excitement, in an instant, drowned by dread.

He lay hopeless and immobile in his hospital bed,
watched, only by his pale reflection, from the tiles above.
The silence seemed so much more violent
than the crash that had gone before.
Only one other bed was occupied in this ward,
filled by a body lying lifelessly;
conducted by a beeping machine.

Partially surrounded by a huddled crowd;
loved ones huddling from the shuddering cold,
of reality and crushing truth:
it was time to flick the switch.

Leave a Comment or Share a Story

Comments

Your Turn. Say It In Six

Zero Words
Backstories Behind Six

The story behind our favorite Sixes.

Shop Six

Need a quick gift? Try Six.

Make an impact. Support Six Words.