UNBRIDLED THOUGHTS a flash fiction inspired by norman rockwell's, "the prom dress"
A young girl, merely thirteen years of age, picks up her mother's old wedding dress. It's covered in the best kind of antiquity: dust and nostalgia and sparkles, reminding her of simpler times. Her mother's first marriage, perhaps. She holds it up to her slim figure, the other garments in the closet soon forgotten. The dress transforms the girl, putting her in her mother's dainty heels. She, too, decides that she couldn't love him. Atleast, not in this.
The light appears artificial, dancing overhead. The bulbs cast funny patterns on the gown. It's no longer a dress, but a noose, tying the girl to something she no longer wants. Marriage seems arduous, a gnarled chain. The girl knows it shouldn't feel this way. She ponders the significance of the lighting fixture. Eventually, she decides it's a metaphor for the affection shared between her parents. Their love is harsh and strained, because that's the only way it knows how to be.
Cutting insults boom from the next room, a fencing match with no audience. The girl doesn't shudder like she used to. The clattering of swords is music to her ears. Sure, it's grating heavy metal, but music nonetheless.
"You're such a deadbeat!" her mom yells, stabbing her dad in the heart.
"I never should've married you!" he retorts. His words are knives. They poke at her mother's throat.
The young girl continues to play pretend. She ignores the commotion. She imagines that if she steps outside, her family heirloom would be splattered with blood. Everything would be ruined. Suddenly, it's her wedding day. The suitor is unknown, a conglomerate of her favorite princes. She's supposed to be elated. The dress is a hot air balloon, lifting her spirits. Still, something drags her down. A premonition makes her feel anxious, her future too uncertain.
"Will I turn out like my mother?" she wonders aloud, "Will 'love' just become another word?"
YOU ARE READING
bread crumbs
Poetryone starry-eyed wandress and her limitless trail of bread crumbs. cover done by the incredible @runninglow
