Standing in the shadows of the granite wall, Thomas was waiting. Maya was late. Her art class finished at nine-thirty and she should already be exiting through the heavy oak door of the local community centre. Others were streaming out with pads and pencils in their hands, chattering excitedly after their evening’s work had finished. But nowhere could Thomas see the tall girl with short curly hair. His tall girl with short curly hair.
Thomas pulled his mobile phone out of his trouser pocket. He pressed a button, illuminating the screen. Nine-forty. Where the bloody hell was she? He dialled her number. It rung once and then went to voice mail. No point in leaving a message. He debated with himself about going inside to get her, but he quickly dismissed that idea as she might reject him. Again. In front of everyone else.
Eventually, at nine-forty-nine she was there, in front of the building, her blue and green checked bag slung over her right shoulder. No doubt there would be another new sketch inside.
Thomas stepped forward into the pale light of the overhead streetlight. ‘Maya,’ he said quietly.
She spun round and smiled. ‘Dad!’ She hugged him in front of her classmates.
He felt a warm sensation in his stomach spread throughout his entire body. ‘Let’s go, honey. I’m double-parked.’
Flash Fiction Diary
This piece was originally published on Artipeeps in July 2013 (Flash Fortnightly #18).
I've decided to take part in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) again this year. The aim is to write 50,000 words towards a novel, or in my case towards a collection of short stories, within the month of November.
Today is day one of Nanowrimo! Luckily on a Friday I only have one class, so this morning I'll be dedicating to getting those first 2,000 words written. If you write every day, you (only!) need to write 1,666 words. However, I have three heavy teaching days when I already know that I'll struggle to write much, if at all. Therefore, I really have to write more on the days that I am writing. Fingers crossed and I'll keep you posted!
Don't want Daddy running inside to fetch her. How embarrassing. Adorable.
ReplyDeleteThanks, David! :)
DeleteHow sweet! And such a surprise in the penultimate line.
ReplyDeleteThat was the plan! :)
DeleteI imagined this story ending with Thomas being identified as an irritation, and someone Maya was perhaps trying to avoid. I really enjoyed the heart warming twist.
ReplyDeleteThat's good to hear! :)
DeleteA good reunion, if a demanding girl.
ReplyDeleteA good reunion! :)
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