Douse the Despair Flash Fiction Story

Remember when I posted a preview to a short story back awhile ago? The inspiration finally came to me to write this, with lots of revisions and changes to the idea, and this is what I came up with. Note that this is my first time EVER writing flash fiction! Enjoy! Updated on 5-11-14!

Weightless… the incredible rush Shira receives each time after she performs. It is now her turn to take flight on stage!

The stage... a place to grab the spotlight, place it upon your heart, and spill your guts to an audience, is where Shira frees herself from the daily mundane and releases life’s pains for others to relate to.  

…”And it is when we all become one functional unit that evil can cease to exist and life can be free of despair and negativity from others.”

The audience roars with excitement and snaps their fingers while being motivated by her powerful words!

After gleefully walking home, she receives a text from Kylie, her nightmare roommate who allows her freeloading boyfriend to rein the place and allow the foul stench of 3 week-old dishes, telling her to “stay out of my apartment”.

“Now I understand why so many people run away from their place of residence”, Shira mutters to herself while smothered in tears during her pitch-black stroll.

Shira silently opens the door in her attempts to sneak into her room to enter her personal lady cave.

"Why does this darn place have to feel like a witches den?" This prevalent thought fuels the ammo brought to the stage. She closes the door and painfully expels her tearful desire for a more stable place to call home…

The next day, after an extraordinarily difficult day at work, Shira wants to channel the previous night’s pain and use it to create… a spicy stuffed jalapeño popper with a side of raw poetry.

The sound of electronic music screams through her cellphone as she answers the phone with great reluctance while seeing her mother’s name appear on the screen.

“You’re such a failure… why do you consistently end up in conflict?” Her mom continues to bicker about nonsense and point out her weaknesses. Shira holds back tears to be able to mutter, “The only issue is terrible luck with a touch of impatience.”

“You’re so fat!” Shira exclaims, “I’ve lost 25 pounds so far… quit undermining all of my accomplishments” as she later receives a letter in the mail informing her that she won a nationally recognized prestigious award for poetic excellence.

“You’re so smart, but *insert flaw here*” is a frequent phrase that comes out of her mother’s mouth due to the need for her mom to always make herself feel better by putting others down, mainly Shira.

To maintain balance and sanity, she releases her inner child by frolicking outside every so often, practicing martial arts, channeling creativity through mediums such as cooking and music, and drawing pictures with words… And of course, remaining positive and strong at all times.

Every Wednesday night, Shira attends an event called “The Pencil Pot”, which is an amateur performer night for people who like to experiment with the arts and have fun, while free bacon is given to all performers and attendees! It’s the one place where she’s been practicing her spoken word poetry for “Talent Universe”, which is an international talent show that’s as widely broadcasted as the Olympics are.

It’s everything Shira dreams of whenever she’s trapped inside her bedroom when Kylie and her boyfriend are taking over the place and she doesn’t want to feel like she’s invading someone else’s space.

Every time an unpleasant emotion comes about, the words “douse the despair… douse the despair… douse the despair” are the words that Shira hears pounding through her head when she tells herself to smile, even when it’s a struggle.

It’s the week before the big audition and another successful performance at The Pencil Pot has been completed.  Frolicking in the midnight darkness, she smiles, grabs optimism by the hand, and tells herself “the world is mine, I can do this!” With that, victory emerges!