Last week was a lot for me. There were several simultaneous deadlines on top of work… which meant lack of sleep and poor skin. Despite all this, when I saw the Reedsy prompts for this week, I was super excited to write. At first, I thought maybe it wasn’t the best idea to add more to my plate. But since I’ve been missing that creative spark, I figured I should capture every opportunity that comes by so I started this story, thinking I’d write when I’m inspired and if I don’t finish it, I wouldn’t feel bad I didn’t try. Well, turns out it was the right decision! Here’s this week’s story. Feel free to critique and like!
#56 Introductions, prompt: Write a story in which two people who know each other are introduced – but neither person admits to knowing the other.
Different, but Same
Danika was about a block away from Café Tranquillité when her sister Freya texted. She briefly glanced at it, but barely read the words. She picked up pace. It was a cloudless summer day and the heat pulsed on Danika’s bare skin. Drops of sweat dotted her forehead and she thanked the gods who created sweat-proof mascara. One more corner and she would escape the heat and enter a safe haven of air conditioning and coffee.
A group of five teenage kids were just coming out from the café, iced drinks in hand and chipper chatter all around. They were oblivious to the world, to Danika slipping through the double doors before they closed behind them. She plopped onto the plush armchair across from Freya, a pretty girl-next-door with round blue eyes that screamed “help me please”. Her chestnut brown, waist-length hair and her tendency to dress in pastel colours and lace added to her soft demeanor, but Danika knew better than to underestimate her. Danika, in contrast, had a short pixie cut she dyed light pink since her parents’ divorce. The shaved sides revealed a slender rose tattoo behind her left ear, thorned stems sprawling down towards her neck, two rose buds about to bloom; the fully bloomed rose had tints of red, the rest of it black. Her own eyes were almond-shaped and dark brown, a feature she disliked. She took solace in wearing black; it was easy to mix and match, and she trusted that it always looked good even if she didn’t feel it. Although open to different types of fabric and styles, everything had to be black—and not just any black—the same black. Danika would like to say her clothes were all #000000 black, but in reality it probably was something like a midnight black. Freya once asked how she knew they were the same black, to which she responded, “I just match whatever I’m wearing that day with what I’m about to buy. There’s no mistake once you put it side by side.” Despite their differences in style, Danika and Freya began shopping together two years ago and had not done so apart since. Shopping now took double the time, but neither of them wished to break the bond they’d discovered since the first day they met.
“Well…? What’s the occasion?” Danika picked up the cup and saucer in front of her and sniffed… continue reading!
In Between The Pages 