Sunday, July 17, 2011

Entry #41

Blank Canvas
by Michele N. Zugnoni


Lorin leaned back on his palms, scanning the starry night. “So are you ever gonna give me back my jacket?”

“Maybe,” Kylah said, staring at the North Star. Hidden behind a bank of grey clouds, its brilliant sheen flickered between sporadic states of darkness and light. “Or maybe I’ve decided to keep it for collateral.”

“Collateral?”

“Yeah, collateral. Y’know, just in case you decide to steal another one of my sketches.” She pushed her hands into his jacket’s pockets, remembering the time in question; attempting to block the memory of his smirk as he’d admired the existence of her creativity: the proof that emotions swelled beneath her tough exterior, yearning for acknowledgement upon a canvas blank before he’d punctured her convoluted life.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she breathed in deep. “Or . . .”

“Or?”

“Or in case you decide to take my advice and leave this stupid town.”

“Oh, I see.” He swiveled to face her; the North Star emerged from its hiding place, turning his eyes a liquid sheen of hazel. “So you’re giving me a reason to come back then?”

“Maybe.”

Lorin pulled her hand from his jacket’s confines. “I think I might have already found one, Ky,” he murmured, entwining their fingers. A flicker of shadow skirted across the surface of his hand, but his eyes danced bright beneath the star.

Caught within his luminous gaze, Kylah’s breath hitched and her eyes slipped shut.

Lips met lips. Another canvas found new life.


(Michele is an ex-demon -- er, attorney -- who walked away from the legal field to embrace her twin passions in writing and swordplay (also known as teaching). Since that time, she's enrolled in a graduate program in English, and almost finished her first novel (a young adult urban fantasy). In her spare time, she finds adventure outdoors, cooks anything that stays still long enough, and travels to as many places as she can manage. She goes by "Mikki" on the blogs.)

19 comments:

SzélsőFa said...

aww, a romantic take vibrant with poetry ... :)

Precie said...

*sigh* I wish them well.

Aimee Laine said...

That deserves an 'awe'. :)

Anonymous said...

Very sweet. You've made me root for them!

Joni said...

I love me some sweet romance. "liquid sheen of hazel." I like to say that over and over again. It should be a band name or something.

Very nice writing!

Michele Zugnoni said...

Thanks so much for the lovely comments. I'm glad you all enjoyed the flash.

fairyhedgehog said...

I love the way we see first her feeling for him, then his for her. And they match!

And I do like a happy ending.

Unknown said...

Sweetness to be found here. Excellent unique use of the prompt.

Dottie :)

bluesugarpoet said...

I love how art is intertwined in this piece. Very sweet snapshot of a budding romance!~ Jana A.

Old Kitty said...

Very sensual and sweet!! Thank you. Take care
x

Jade L Blackwater said...

wonderful love sketch!

PJD said...

How could an ex-demon write such a romantic vignette? It's very sweet, Mikki, and your pace and language complete it. Lovely.

Richard Levangie said...

Well, this one touched my little heart. I love the characters, and would love to see more of them.

Nicely rendered. Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

I like this romantic take on the prompt.

JaneyV said...

Mikki - honest to goodness unadulterated romance - I can't tell you how lovely it is to read. Well written and perfectly paced too. Nice job.

Aniket Thakkar said...

Okay, don't tell anyone, but love reading romantic flash pieces. Sarah Hina writes a new one title "New" as her first post of the new years. I always eagerly wait for it. And one of my all time favorites of Jason's was a piece where he wrote about a couple taking a walk under the moon. More than the post, the to and fro comments between him and Aine, warmed everyone's heart.

Point is, these are the pieces I'll always remember.

This, is a piece, I'll always remember. Thank you for such a wonderful read.

Michele Zugnoni said...

Thank you all for your wonderful comments. They made me very, very happy. I'm glad you enjoyed the piece.

Catherine Vibert said...

Sweet! I love the way you made the North Star a kind of character of its own, shining in his eyes like that. :-)

rocky wing said...

that last line--sheer poetry in prose. bravo!! brought back memories of first kisses and love's first bloom.