Welcome to day one of the A to Z Challenge! My theme is 100 word (give or take a word or two) flash fiction on the 
darker side of human nature. I hope you enjoy.
Always
Last night, you lashed out at me. You caught me across my cheek. It stung. It hurt, but it didn’t hurt as badly as your words. They hurt in a different way. Deeper. They will stay with me long after the bruise on my cheek has faded. Always.
It’s so hard watching this disease eat you up, swallow the real you and replace you with a monster. A monster with a sharp fist and a sharper tongue. A physical replica but so different inside. I know it’s not you, you would never hurt me. And I still love you. Always.
For extended versions of the A-Z flash fiction pieces and some whole new stories too, download my book, Twisted Tales.
Let me know what you think in the comments 🙂
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Wow. That almost hurt to read. Good job!
Thank you, I’m glad you liked it 🙂
How very sad. Makes me think of someone afflicted with Alzheimer’s.
That’s kind of what I had in mind when I was writing it
The darker side of people. It’s ‘always’ a bit harder to see. This should be an interesting challenge. Looking forward to your posts!
Mary
That’s true, it is. Thank you, I hope you enjoy them 🙂
Powerful. Did you have a particular illness in mind when you wrote it?
Thank you. I was kind of thinking along the lines of a dementia/Alzheimer’s type thing
Yup, this was powerfully put in 100 words or so .. great start to A-Z!
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
This is very emotional. I’ll be following the rest of your A-Z challenge!
Thank you so much, I hope you enjoy the rest of the posts!
Awww what a powerful piece. You did a great job of delivering emotion in so few words. I really enjoyed reading it.
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
This blog might comprise of fewer words but you never know how much impact it creates. The one affected can relate to it. So powerful.. Keep writing like this. I will surely visit you again.
Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed the post!
Hello from A to Z. I hope the narrator in this story will later understand that there is always a way out of situations like this.
I hope so too, I think this narrator deserves a happy ending!
I loved this. I am torn between imagining a mental illness, or Alzheimer’s as other’s mentioned, or a more literal transformation, like the movie “The Fly” or something. Either way I liked it. Good job!
Thank you 🙂 I was kind of thinking along the Alzheimer’s lines when I was writing this, but I love that you found another way it could be taken!
Moving, so very moving. You pack a lot of emotion in such condensed manner. The word Always evokes much hope, and the ending is bitter sweet. Emotion lingers. Well done. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed the story
Vividly depicts both the physical and mental madness a partner half- way round the bend can inflict without a thought. Good beginning!
Thank you, I’m glad you liked it!
Great start to the A-Z challenge. Welcome aboard Greenham’s yacht
Thank you, I’m glad you liked it 🙂
First, I like your limiting your post to 100 words or more. I limit my to 300 words or less.
Second, I read this flash fiction piece and I immediately wanted to shout to the woman, Get Out Of There!
You stirred my emotions.
Shalom,
Patricia
Usually, I’m quite wordy but I found shorter posts did much better on last year’s challenge, so I set a word limit for myself. Thank you so much Patricia, I’m glad you enjoyed the story 🙂
that was some powerful bit of writing. Resonates very much in what some people especially women go through.
Thank you so much!
This post was painful to read, which is to say you wrote it well.
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Well done! When what we know changes and morphs into something we don’t understand. I have had some inkling of this as my hubs is recovering from a cardiac arrest and sometimes I feel I don’t know him when he’s in one of his dark moods.
Thank you 🙂 I’m sorry to hear about your hubby, I hope he feels better soon, it must be awful to be going through this in real life!
Debbie. when I read ” Darker Side” in your theme, I was slightly skeptical about me enjoying the post but trust me, this is the best post I read today. You wrote it amazingly well. Giving such a deep emotional touch in just 100 words deserves an applause. I am coming back here to read more.
@SarahVamshi from The Tin Truck
Thank you so much, your comment has just totally made my day 🙂
Nice plan, one hundred words, hard to execute I can imagine, you did it very well.
It is hard, but it’s kind of fun too! Thank you 🙂
Yes, the stinging words hurt more than physical pain. The human mind cannot “remember” the actual hurt of pain, only retain the memory of the reaction. Sadly, emotional hurt goes to the bone and sticks in the mind, ready to surface at the least provocation. Wish we weren’t wired that way.
Thank you for visiting my site for A-Day. #AlohaFriday to you.
That’s true, the emotions of being hurt definitely have more of a long term effect than any physical pain. Thank you 🙂
Such a heartbreaking story told in few words. Nicely done, Debbie. Looking forward to reading more of your posts.
Thank you, I’m glad you liked it and I hope you enjoy the others 🙂
This was a subtle type of dark. Wonderful job!
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Beautiful and sad.
Thank you
Wow! I could almost feel the pain of the narrator. Very well-written!
Thank you!
heart wants what it wants… it’s so sad … hope she sees reason someday.
Visiting from A to Z Challenge
Pam’s Unconventional Alliance Team
Love is something you can’t just turn off, though sometimes it would be nice if we could!
Wow, very powerful. I was thinking of an abused wife when I read it.
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
depression and bipolar and so many other things came to mind – scary when it could be so many of your readers experiencing this themselves.
Leanne from Cresting the Hill
I think that’s what makes this story a bit chilling – it is something that can and does happen to so many people every day
That was dark and powerful. Makes me want to know more about the love between them and what is happening to break it.
bravo!
Sophie
Thank you 🙂 In the future I may expand on some of these
How you could encompass so much in so little…amazing! A monster and a sick person! I’ll be bacck soon 🙂
@KalaRavi16 from Relax and Rave
Thank you, I’m glad you liked it and I hope you enjoy the rest 🙂
This is so painful to watch. We have all been there in some shape or form. Very well described.
Thanks for dropping in on my A-Z ventures.
I totally agree, it is really painful when it is happening in real life. Thank you.
This is powerful. I’ve known people who’ve had to deal with something like this. That’s got to be a hard road to walk. Well done!
Thank you, it must be horrific to deal with this in real life
So very poignant and sad. To lose someone, but not lose them has to be the hardest of all loses because there is no closure.
Tasha
Thank you. I agree, it must be an awful thing to live with.
Well done. It read like addiction to me. But that’s probably the alcoholic in me talking.
Thank you 🙂 I was sort of thinking along the lines of Alzheimer’s/dementia when I was writing it, but you raise an interesting point here. It could apply just as well to addiction.
I was married to a man that had a very bad darker side… I’m very happy the word WAS is in that sentence. Well all I can say is I’m a big fan of Stephen King, but only the books that are not too dark. I’m a big fan of the “Gunslinger” series. I have all seven books! You really have one helleva start off here the I must say. I’m glad you stopped by me so I know you’re here. Have a great weekend.
I’m happy that word is was too. It’s one thing to write about it in fiction, but another to live it. I love Stephen King too, I liked the Gunslinger series but I love the darker stuff too. Thank you so much, you have a great weekend too 🙂
Well done, Debbie:-) An excellent example of flash fiction at its riveting finest!
Thank you so much, I’m glad you liked it 🙂
Wow, great job!
Amazing writing in just a few words.
Thank you so much, I’m glad you liked it 🙂
Apart from being a powerful piece of Flash Fiction, it is almost Haiku in style. The reader is introduced to action, followed by what looks like a dilemma.
Are we thinking along the lines of an extreme character issue (for whatever reason), but the other party is desperate to hold on?
Nice work.
Thank you 🙂 I hadn’t thought of it being like a Haiku but I see what you mean. Originally when I was writing it, I was thinking along the lines of an Alzheimer’s or Dementia type thing, but another commenter said they thought of addiction whilst reading it and I really liked that idea too. And yes I think the other party is definitely desperate to hold on. Thanks again!
wow! looks like you are off to a great start!. I had shivers running up and down my spine after reading
Thank you for your visit to my blog, have a great a to z!
Thank you, I’m glad you liked it 🙂 You have a great A to Z too!
Nice start to the challenge. Aptly dark.
~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Thank you, I’m glad you liked it 🙂
I agree with the first comment 100%- it hurt to read. It’s powerful stuff: honest and direct.
Thank you for visiting me. I’m gonna pop back everyday.
Thank you 🙂 I hope you like the rest of the posts!
Really powerful writing! I’m loving this challenge! 🙂 #anythinggoes
Thank you 🙂 I’m glad you liked it!
Debbie, I see in your replies that you were thinking about Alzheimer’s when you wrote this. You took me right back to my mother’s father at the end of his life. Very vivid. Two observations: this is so universal and can fit so many things…addiction, mental illness…and your writing says so much with so little that it reminds me of a graphic novel. Nice!
Thank you so much, this is my first real attempt at such short fiction and I am so happy people are enjoying it! I hope this hasn’t stirred up any bad memories.
This automatically made me think of a few men in who beat their wives/girlfriends while they were drunk but when they were sober they would never hit their partners. This is why the women stayed with the men for as long as they did. This is definitely sad and some things like drugs, alcohol, and mental illness can bring out a person’s darker self. Great post Debbie! #anythinggoes
I had an Alzheimer’s type thing in mind when I wrote this, but it could just easily refer to an abusive relationship. I like how different people are getting different things from this! Thank you 🙂
Wow – powerful – especially this description “A monster with a sharp fist and a sharper tongue:
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Love this! And love the idea behind it too. #AnythingGoes
Thank you, I’m glad you liked it 🙂
Really powerful Debbie. Is it written for someone with Alzheimer’s as suggested? It could also be applied to the mum of a son with autism (although I would never call autism a disease.) A fabulous start hun xx
Thank you 🙂 I did have Alzheimer’s in mind when I wrote it, but a few of the comments have mentioned other things it brought to their mind and I can see those things now too. I agree autism isn’t a disease but I can see how this could relate to it too. x
Really effective and thought-provoking. Well done! #AnythingGoes
Thank you and thanks for linking up 🙂
Very interesting and thought-provoking! Good luck on this challenge… #AnythingGoes
Thank you, I’m glad you liked it 🙂
Oh this was very powerful and made me feel quite sad. Excellent use of words. #anythinggoes
Thank you 🙂
great A. although it was sad to read #anythinggoes
i really liked your B as well !
Thank you 🙂 It was sad to write too.
Very strong and emotive. Feels quite raw! Thanks for hosting #AnythingGoes
Thank you 🙂 And thanks for linking up!
That’s quite a punch. Always. Like the 100 limit, to the point! X #AnythingGoes
Thank you 🙂 I found shorter posts work best on this challenge so thought I would embrace it lol x
Wow, what an absolutely chilling piece. You know you’re talented when you can take someone and put them somewhere else, in someone else’s shoes, in just a couple of paragraphs.
I read through the comments that you had dementia in mind when you wrote this, but it struck me hard as the viewpoint of someone struggling to love someone through alcoholism.
Either way, you have some serious talent. Thank you so much for sharing! #anythinggoes
Thank you so much. It could just as easily relate to alcoholism or drug addiction. I love how different people are getting different things from it 🙂
Cool idea – the flash fiction idea. Your words are well chosen and hit the spot.
Sally @ Life Loving
#AnythingGoes
Thank you I’m glad you liked it 🙂
Oooo this is so deep Debbie! I love the line about the same on the outside but different insides. What a great challenge – I look forward to the rest of the alphabet. #AnythingGoes
Thanks Becky, I hope you enjoy the rest 🙂
Interesting. Sadly this reminds me of someone close to me with advanced dementia. Words can be so powerful, can’t they? #anythinggoes
I’m sorry if this upset you. It’s so sad watching someone change like that in real life
Beautiful & heartbreaking. I assumed Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia too, as people have said. #AnythingGoes
Thank you 🙂 That’s what I had in mind when I wrote it.
That’s brilliant, makes me want to read more! #abitofeverything xx
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Those words hurt to read. I met that monster once. A very scary, dark, disturbing monster indeed. I’m so glad I found your blog. I’ve really enjoyed your flash fiction.
Melissa Sugar
Thank you, I hope it didn’t stir up too many upsetting memories
Wow, utterly powerful! That definitely sounds like you’re referring to dementia/outsideness . You are a fantastic writer! #AnythingGoes xxx
Thank you so much 🙂 I did have dementia in mind when I wrote this one x
Ouch–I felt that! Well done. From experience I know how hard it is to write an effective short piece. Was it Mark Twain who wrote to a friend that he would have written a shorter letter, but he didn’t have time? My immediate thought was that the striker was an alcoholic, and the recipient of the blow was a co-dependent who, blaming herself, “loved him anyway.”
Thank you 🙂 This was my first attempt at such short fiction and it really is harder than longer stories! A few people said alcoholic/addict, it does have that sort of feel to it, although I actually had Alzheimer’s in mind when I wrote it 🙂