Heather shares a personal flash nonfiction essay. It will leave you warm and cold at the same time.

The summer I turned twenty three I decided to teach English in South Korea. My boyfriend had just broken up with me and it seemed like the only thing to do.

Prompt Idea: The protagonist is in a dream and they cannot see another figure but they know they are there. How? I take a brief crack at it and I encourage you to do it too!

Where we lived in Nebraska was called ‘The Between’ because it filled the great emptiness that divided civilization. There was a city three hours north from us and two hours south. East and West? That was just more Between; rolling lands of cornfield oceans just swimming with cattle. It was quiet.

Until it wasn’t.

The ego of a seventeen year old is more fragile than a bubble close to bursting. I was no exception. I still remember the buzz in the air and the chatter at lockers. Prom proposals were a spectacle I couldn’t escape.

For the first time it seemed, I saw him. He had lines etched around his eyes and a beard that matched the hair on his head. I saw that the necklace I had given him last month for his birthday was missing. Most of all, I saw the absence of me in his gaze when all I could see was him; all I ever saw was him.

Sybil stabbed her nail into the soft flesh of the satyr’s lower stomach and traced a red line that reached above his navel. He screamed and thrashed but his limbs remained fastened to the altar.

Here is an excerpt from a short story I am currently writing titled “Lady of the Wood”.

Tamara muttered a curse and reached for her quiver. Her feet swiftly covered the uneven terrain as she nocked an arrow.

Check out a small snippet from my unfinished book, Ghost of Eteraine.

• Have a character that only speaks one word or can not speak at all.

• Have a character experience betrayal at the hands of a loved one.

• One character is color blind or can only see in black and grey.

“Hey, your jumpsuit is so chic- where did you get it?” Gabbie looked exasperated as she said, “for the last time, Becky, I legally have to clean your side of the road; leave me alone.”