So Far Away – 210 words
It had been a mistake.
No, not the decision to race through the dunes on one of the hottest days of the year.
Not the forgetting of water in his eagerness to escape. He deserved the torment.
Not the forgetting of sunscreen, though undoubtedly he’d be in agony tomorrow.
He was in agony today. It was agony that’d sparked this flight, this attempt to outrace the truth, the searing knowledge that life would never be the same again.
He was an idiot.
Why?
Why had he kissed Molly McGruder? Why had he let other things follow kisses?
The drive for physical pleasure had overridden common sense, as it had so many times in the past.
Only this time he’d lost the thing most precious to him. He’d never forget her face, the shock, the hurt, the sheer betrayal written there in each tear that stabbed its way down her cheeks.
It’d been a mistake.
Now he ran for physical pain. He needed it. He deserved it.
It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. Some sins were simply unforgivable.
Around him, ahead of him, behind him: all was desert. As was his life, now that he’d lost her.
He knew she’d never forgive him. He knew she shouldn’t.
He ran.
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Today’s Flash Friday Fiction challenge? Include the theme “blunder” in conjunction with the photo prompt above. You’ve got 200 (+/-) words to work with. Go!
How did I do? I’d love to hear from you in the comments – or race/jog/gallivant your way over to Flash Friday to read and respond to others’ offerings, or offer up one of your own!
And yes, the title is an homage to Flock of Seagulls. It seemed fitting.