Exercise #48 : "Your Best Friend is a Mirror"
Make this old saying your first line - and start writing.
Make this old saying your first line - and start writing.
This must be a very, very old saying, because I've never heard of it. Now, I've played that game where you stand facing someone and then either you mimic them in your movements, or they mimic you, but I have never used it as a saying. Time to go looksie on the internet because I'm intrigued.
And the internet search proves - drumroll, please - zilch. Great. I
have no idea what that saying means, so I'm going in blind. Oh well... I'll just make it up as I go. If anyone has heard of this phrase, please enlighten me.Here goes.
Begin 5 minutes.
"Your best friend is a mirror," Melissa says, mindlessly twirling her fork in the angel hair pasta on her plate.
"Wait," I say. "What? What does that even mean? He's a human being."
"Well, of course she's a human being," she says, rolling her eyes at my confusion. "But that doesn't mean she can't be a mirror, too."
I am nonplussed. Melissa has finally misplaced her mind. I've been waiting for it to happen for a while, and there is a certain amount of peace to be had now that it has happened.
Melissa notices me staring at her and sighs. "Stop looking at me like that. I'm not crazy."
"Ok," I say. "You're not crazy, but what do you mean?"
"All I mean is that Ephraim reflects you."
"And?"
"Well, you might want to think about that." Deciding that the pasta is not to her liking, Melissa picks up the paper plate and tosses it and the food into the garbage can.
"Think about what?" I have moved past nonplussed on to complete and utter confusion.
"The fact that Ephraim reflects you," she says. "He's not exactly the most reputable character."
All of a sudden, it hits me. "Ohhh," I say. "Gotcha," and then, "You're an ass."
5 minutes up.
I did my best. That's all I can do, I guess. :)
Peace.
Stef.
Comments
I'm not entirely sure what flash fiction is to be honest. I know that someone posts a short story (or something shorter than a short story) and, in the specific case of #flashfriday, then posts it on their blog or whatnot. Other than that, I don't know much. What is the word limit (I've heard both 500 and 1000.)? Is there a different content limitation for each Friday, or can your contribution be about anything you wish? Ahhhh, too many questions!! haha
Firstly, the old saying is supposed to be:
"The best mirror is an old friend"
It has been attributed to George Herbert (an English clergyman and metaphysical poet). It's from the mid 1600s.
As for what is Flash? Flash fiction is a story of less than 1000 words. It must have all the normal story elements as in a beginning, middle and end and have character arcs and all that good stuff. Any of those parts missing and it's a vignette and not really flash fiction.
Shorter does not mean easier.
Hope that helps.
Good luck.
Thanks for the info on flash fiction. :) It's very much appreciated.