Oooh! Hi TheGirlNextDoor! I'm Chinchilla, Chinch, Chilly, whatever ya wanna call me. (NOT. Snookums. NEVER SNOOKUMS) I don't think I've ever actually heard of Flash Fiction before I read this, but it sounds cool. So it's essentially a longish short story? I may have actually written it before, without knowing it.... But yeah, I might post some, if I write it!

I'm pretty sure I learned about flash fiction last year in school, but I can't completely remember. And, on a similar topic, I wrote this last year in school and it might be flash fiction? Yes? It's 394 words...

Alex stared at his computer screen, shoved in the only clear spot among piles of unfinished work, stale chips, dirty socks, library books due five years ago, old toys, and broken electronics. Why am I doing this? he asked himself. Because I have to, he answered himself. But why do I have to? You just have to. No, I don’t. You do if you want to have a life! Okay, but why do I have to do it this way? Good point. You don’t. He slammed his laptop closed and grabbed a piece of paper. It seemed to stare him down. “No, paper. You will not distract me from completing this.”

Sal chose that moment to push open the door. “Alex? Were you just talking to a piece of paper? Are you okay? Do you need help or music or something?”

“No, I’m fine!” he snapped, yelling to be heard as a staticy buzz started up.

“O-kay,” said Sal tentatively, stepping back out. Alex returned to his paper and began to write. He had just finished his first sentence when he became aware of music playing in the background. Spooky music. “WHO PLAYED MUSIC?!”

“I did,” said a feminine, robotic voice.

“WHO ARE YOU?”

“I’m Alexa, your virtual assistant.”

“Alexa, shut up!”

“I will turn myself-” Alexa’s voice fizzled out as static overcame it. The music continued playing.

Why does this always have to happen to me? And right when I’m about to do something actually good? Well, is that going to stop me? No! It isn’t? It isn’t! I am going to do this anyway! And with that, Alex bent his head to the paper and continued writing. 

Just when he thought he was actually going to accomplish this, the music reached a crescendo. Alex’s head snapped up as if it was part of a puppet and slowly turned toward the corner where Alexa hid. If eyes could be lasers, his would have burned a hole straight through the muddy shoes and into the core of the robot. Unfortunately, eyes cannot be lasers, so he snatched the nearest object and threw it as hard as he could toward the source of the music. He didn’t realize that the object was a rotten tomato until the music stopped and he started thinking rationally. Ah well. At least now I can finish writing in peace. 

So, this is an expressive metaphor type thingy I wrote yesterday called "There were Dragons".

------

Once upon a time, there were dragons.

They flew through the land, breathing magic into the eyes of man. They spread their wings over the sun and made puppets that danced on the grass, and they shaped the clouds into infinite forms. Because of the dragons, anything existed, even that which did not exist in the land.

Once upon a time, the world had layers and streams that ran to the center of the earth and back again, flowing with light and color. Inside the streams was life, and it grew and evolved and pulsated with energy, always changing. Because of the layers, anything existed, even that which did not exist in the land.

Once upon a time, magic was inside, but the magic has left now, and I am like a dead coral, a shell of something once great. Once upon a time, I swam in those streams, and I flew with the dragons, but now I am wingless, and the streams have dried up, and the dragons have flown away.

Where they have gone I do not know, but they must be somewhere. I seek paths through the tangled dead things in the land, but so far, I have not found a way out.

I need to catch up with the dragons. I need to take what made them leave and destroy what holds me captive here.

Once upon a time, there were dragons. They dazzled my eyes and sang magnificent songs.

But now they are gone.

-------

The dragons represent creativity, or things imagined in the mind. I guess I've sort of been going through a low point in that regard lately, but writing this helped me start to bounce back.