Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Entry #83

Butchers
by Peter Lane


On the first day of the first ever Victor St. Claire Writer's Workshop held within the loose confines of the virtual campus of St. Claire College itself, the keynote presenter signed off with an open invitation for all participants to spend some time over the next few days composing a piece of flash fiction inspired by a photograph depicting a certain ominous nighttime sky.

As the submissions began to pour in, each accorded its customary share of encouraging comments, one began to stand out both for its audacious brevity and conspicuous lack of commentary. It read simply:

In Pittsburgh Pennsylvania there lived a teenage girl born into blindness who spent her days writing haikus rooted in an invisible world. Where others saw an intricate pattern of clouds framed by the dark fractals in treetops she imagined the meaning of the clear sky left in their relief. Where others saw a glowing moon on the horizon she imagined the last days of a dying star regarding its reflection on the surface of a black hole.

The last haiku she ever wrote before disappearing from her home never to be seen again read simply:


Camera shutters
Blades for butchers in our time
Slicing up the truth

9 comments:

anna said...

nice and original. enjoyed!
Loved the haiku!!!

Anonymous said...

Awesome.

Anonymous said...

Quite clever! Long first paragraph, though. Had to catch my breath at the end of it (even though I read it silently). :) Enjoyed the haiku at the end!

Joni said...

Very funny, Peter. Clever use of the contest. I too, am fascinated by the haiku. I'm impressed.

anne frasier said...

heeh! loved it, peter.

"each accorded its customary share of encouraging comments"

very clever, then it turns dark and makes my tummy feel funny.

Anonymous said...

Very original idea. Loved the ending. The haiku was intriguing. Shutters as blades for butchers......

Bhaswati said...

I have to echo what KL said. Highly original and intelligent.

tiff said...

wow. All this in only 250 words? pretty darned amazing.

Anonymous said...

Wow. I don't even know what to say. This is incredibly original. I love it! A story within a story. High marks overall.