I thought I’d have a little fun this week with a flash fiction story. Little by little, I’m working on “my game” for good, inspirational stories that aren’t cheesy.

I’m so grateful to explore stories, poetry, and even artwork in the name of “sharing love and compassion with creativity.”

Below is a little story I wrote this summer.

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Alternate Reality

 

What was this place? I was in a white abyss stretching to infinity in all directions. I couldn’t recall ever being in this kind of space before.

I started to walk, but no matter where I walked, it looked like I almost stood still. I jumped, ran, and laid down to see if doing any of these different things would somehow give me a different scene.

I glanced around again and seeing nothing new, I sat. I crossed my legs as if to meditate, but I didn’t close my eyes. What was the point? I wouldn’t be meditating; my mind was racing with “what is this, how do I get out of here and what a day” sorts of questions.

I propped up my arm and rested my chin on my fisted hand. I used my other hand to pinch the ridge between my eyes in a useless attempt to fend off a headache. I didn’t see the little dot on the horizon.

I didn’t see it grow bigger and bigger. When I finally looked up, I recognized a human figure, wearing what looked to be all red. Walking. Toward me.

I stayed put. Where would I run? Where would I even try to hide?

As the figure got closer, maybe no more than a minute away from me, I could see that it was a man, dressed in the robes of a monk. His gold-rimmed glasses seemed to emphasize his bald head.

When he got to me, he didn’t say hello. He said nothing. For a few long moments, he stared down at me.

“C-can I help you?” I asked.

He didn’t answer. But, as if I’d asked him to sit down, he sat right across from me, crossed legs and all.

“Who are you? Where are we?”

The monk had a gentle smile, but still remained silent. He took a deep breath, barely audible in the silence of this white abyss. And then another. I felt myself following along, only vaguely aware that my breaths were in rhythm with his.

I couldn’t close my eyes, though. My mind was still too agitated from all the questions swirling around.

“You’ve had a bad day,” he finally said, in a low voice.

This time, I was the one who didn’t answer. My eyes fixated on his cacao-colored face, his gentle eyes and the glimmer of the gold sash across his red robes.

“I want you to know something,” he continued. “You let thoughts of fear and uncertainty rule your life.”

What did he know about my life? I might not have been the brightest person in the world, but I at least knew that I didn’t let them rule my life.

“You don’t think so, but you do. And I urge you to stop.”

I shook my head. I wanted to refute what he was saying. I had my own questions, my own things to say.

“You have a destiny. You will achieve great things. But you let negative, turbulent thoughts enter your mind.”

“I’m not thinking anything negative right now.” Out of all the things I could have said, that was all I managed to say.

“You’re not the brightest person in the world.”

I shook my head, not comprehending. “Why do you say that?”

“I only repeated your thoughts.”

“How do you know my thoughts?”

“You had a bad day,” he said again. He either didn’t hear my question or chose to ignore them. “And you’ve beat yourself up about it over and over again. You wrongly accused that person of stealing something that was yours. You found out you were in the wrong, and now you’re replaying it over and over in your mind.”

The smile on his face got a little bigger when he saw my eyes grow wide.

“Let it go. Humans make mistakes. When your mind begins to replay, let it go.”

“I can’t. I might have permanently damaged her. I’m a terrible person.”

“The more you say these things in your thoughts, the more you will live up to them. Your thoughts are energy. They turn into actions. From those actions, you create your reality.”

“What’s the point of recreating reality knowing I’m such a terrible person?”

“You are human. And if you don’t stop, I will tell you what’s going to happen. You will never realize your dream of starting your consulting business. You will allow yourself to give into your doubt.”

“And if I let it go?” I asked, but couldn’t see how.

“I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. You will create the business of your dreams. And because success attracts success, you will rise up and up. You’re an ethical person and you’ll continue on an upward trend of growth. But there is one thing you must do: you must change your thoughts so that your thoughts create a different reality. You must do this, or the window of time will close and you will lose your opportunity.”

I watched as he reached underneath his robes. He took out a chain, connected to a blue marbled stone. He walked up to me and put it around my neck.

“Take this. This is called ‘apatite’. It is a stone of manifestation and will help you deflect negative thoughts. Always wear it and carry it with you until your dreams are realized.”

I held the stone in my hand. It felt warm from the monk’s touch. I studied it for a few moments.

“Thank you,” I said looking up, but the monk was gone. I spun around, but he had disappeared.

I heard the buzz of my alarm. I silenced the incessant beeps in my ear. I opened my eyes but everything was dark. As I leaned to turn on my lamp, I felt something heavy roll across my chest.

It was the stone the monk had given me.

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The criteria for flash fiction are that it be anywhere from 300 – 1000 words. I’ve written quite a few of these flash fiction stories.

If you enjoyed this, please let me know. I enjoy writing these, but I want to see if you all enjoy reading them. If you prefer other content, I’m always taking your ideas into consideration.

I hope you enjoyed this story. May you have a wonderful week! Next week, I have something special in store for you.