Flash Friday Fiction: Unbalanced

Shiva. CC photo by Raphael Goetter.
Shiva. CC photo by Raphael Goetter.

Unbalanced – 154 words

“I’m gonna fall, Lizzie!” I’d exclaim, my toes digging into the beam with all their might.

“No you’re not,” she’d answer from in front of me. “Just hold on to me and I’ll get you through.” Every time she’d say that. I never fell.

They tell me she’s schizophrenic. They tell me she’s better off here, with round-the-clock care in a calm environment. They tell me she needs more than I can give.

I look at my older sister. She’d been my rock for so many years, always there when I needed her, always catching me when I stumbled, literally and not.

I reach out and grab her shoulder, the gesture at once familiar and stabilizing. She looks at me with her deep brown eyes, terror written in them. Then a smile. She knows who I am.

“Julie,” she says.

I pull her close. “Just hold on to me and I’ll get you through.”

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Today’s my husband’s birthday! That means I’ve been busy paying attention to him, and dashed this story off in true haste – flash writing in all senses of the term. Still, I like it. What do you think? In addition to the 150 word (+/- 10 word) limit, we had to include something about clumsiness, whether overtly or subtly referenced. Did I succeed??

Please hop (or flip or vault or back handspring) over to Flash Friday Fiction and read/comment on the other fabulous entries!

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