He sketched Her ~ II (flash fiction)

On By Michele LeeIn flash fiction, love, new beginnings, Poetic Prose

She had enough of his relentless demands; one deal barely closed before he expected more. She needed a break, she needed to breathe. He said he’d return quickly with the next sales lead. She quietly told him to “Fuck off,” then she slammed through a side door. Modern metal smacking historical brick. The building exhaled causing the cold air outside to wake from its sleep. Too rushed to grab her coat, with her pulse surging, the chill, she barely noticed. Raging resentment turned her breath a smokey silver with hissing embers.

She was hot. She was mad. One crooked look from googly eyes passing by and she would blaze their bouncy blacks with venomous fire. Arms folded, stilettos stomping, far from her boss she wanted to step. He had her where he wanted her. She laughed out loud at the thought of this. She didn’t need any of this. The company car. The generous expense account. The corner office. A salary well above industry standards. Even if she did, with her reputation and winning record, she could command twice this. She was sure of this. What she needed was a life. Not a life sentence behind a white-picket fence, but a month off, to unplug from the constant stress. Her vita was glowing. Her soul was crumbling.

Her heel caught in a crack, that’s when she noticed an artist’s page, sealed to the fractured earth. The paper was covered in the color of pencil. She unwedged her spike, kneeled and reached for the paper’s edge. The penciled scene captured her breath. The sparks shooting from her became warm flames wrapped around her. Her cooling fingertips brushed across delicate graphite. Strokes that told the story of a maiden’s longing, the moon’s pulling, and an artist’s devotion. What appeared to be the artist’s signature in the bottom right corner, was ruined.

She felt more reverence for the muddied sketch than her last delivered contract. She rolled up the mysterious masterpiece then tucked it under her left arm. She kept walking. Same pace, less rage. She walked one more block before her calming skin began to feel the chill. Without her purse to make a purchase, she stepped into a crowded coffee shop. Clinking bells on the glass door made it impossible for her entrance to go unnoticed. Her eyes looked down, the page tucked tight, she found a corner chair under a golden light. She did not panic at the thought of her phone, absent. She smiled at the image of her boss man texting her over and over. The veins along his temples, about to explode. She unrolled the sketch, noticing more detail under the golden glow. A curious excitement flooded her, followed by a strong desire to find the artist who created her.

On a quest, she walked past the growing line of customers and asked the baristas if they recognized the hand that sketched this. Most of them kept looking at her, the rude woman interrupting them with a crusty sketch. No one said a word, just a few slow shakes of heads.

A persuasive negotiator, she knew what would get their attention. “I am offering a thousand-dollar reward to the man, woman, or child who can lead me this artist,” she said.

They stopped pouring and taking orders and gave her an actual listen. “Take a picture, pay attention, ask around. Split it with the artist, I don’t care,” she explained, “just find the hand that sketched this,” she said with one final thrust of the page before phones started clicking.

“How do we know you’re good for it?” a bold dark-haired man-child asked.

She directed him to her company’s website. There she was, polished and impressive, featured above a long list of achievements. He looked at it, looked up at her, then showed his phone to his coworkers. They all agreed. It was her.   

“There, now you know not only my name, but where to find me.”

Someone in the line shouted out, “I want a picture! I will find the person!” One request turned into ten more camera clicks.

When the clicking stopped she repeated her cell number three times to the thirsty crowd before she and her protected paper maiden stepped away. “Be sure to share the sketch!” she added with one final glance. Clinking bells marked her exit.  

She walked back to her office, to grab her purse, phone, and jacket. She told her boss she would prepare the next client presentation. In thirty days. Resting, walking, cooking, movie-binging, bird listening, reading, singing, unplugging, meditating, and daydreaming became her new pace of living.

On the 27th day, while journaling under a full moon, she received a text:

I heard there’s a bounty for my hands. For the next three hours, you can find me leaning against the last tree, near Pier 33.

She laced up her shoes, zipped up her jacket, grabbed the tubular container where her sketched lady rested, then started stepping toward a creator who, in her, stirred fascination and enchantment.

If you made it this far, having read every word, you deserve a gold star! 🌟 Thank you for your time and interest. My work of fiction might be more like a long exposure than a flash. 📸😆

This story is continued from He Sketched Her: a story that introduces the artist she is drawn to.

Thanks for visiting and reading! Be well.  💗 Michele

Photos 1 & 2: Antonio Guillem Photo 3: PH888 Photo 4: my recent moon image

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

103 thoughts on “He sketched Her ~ II (flash fiction)”

      4. “Modifying dangler” 😆 Apparently, I saw it because I liked it. What was I thinking? 😂 I did not make the connection. Thank you for reminding me of your musical masterpiece, that will forever be etched in my brain. 🙄 Write on! Rock on! 😎

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Were you stomping down the cracked sidewalk with her? Maybe not in spiked heels, but hey whatever suits you. 😆 Thanks so much, Brad, for joining the heroine’s journey! A gold star to you I gladly give. 🌟 When I have a published book (of a completely different story), a signed copy is yours! 🙏🏻

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

    1. Thanks for loving this, Nicole. I had fun writing this! And snapping some moon shots earlier this week. 🌚 The agony of suspense! 😆 It does not appear that this story is done with me… we shall see what shows up during the next full moon. ✨

      Like

      Reply

  10. A great read Michele and a sneak preview into your novel I expect. You deserve the gold star dear!
    Great imagery and semantics!
    💞
    “Strokes that told the story of a maiden’s longing, the moon’s pulling, and an artist’s devotion. What appeared to be the artist’s signature in the bottom right corner, was ruined.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Wonderful feedback. Thank you, Cindy! Not at all related to my novel or the novella I am working on. Other than I am the writer of all three. 😁 The manuscript I am querying is darker with a younger protagonist; I won’t be sharing any of that, at least not for the foreseeable future. My novella is based on my poems, “Her Cottage by the Sea.” I do appreciate you mentioning it and offering me a gold star. I will gladly accept! 🙏🏻I rather like those lines too. 💞 Thank you!!

      Like

      Reply

    1. Thank you! I aim to please! Myself first. 😁 I love the process – being inspired by an idea then letting the story take over. It is a grand bonus, when others connect and enjoy. An active imagination during reading is a beautiful thing, guess an extended one isn’t so bad either. 🙏🏻😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  24. Very excellent story from previous one 🙏✍️👍🏻 most emotional story ‘He sketched Her ‘ ~ ||
    Most emotionally written dear beautiful Author ✍️ first time she agreed to sketch her photo
    and so many photos taken and sold also 👍🏻🌷so she angry and didn’t agree 🙁Her life got
    miserable and she bravely managed her life’s difficulties 👌Later her admirer generously
    called and forced to come to take her sketch also full moon she can’t hesitate and agreed
    and she beautifully 👗 dressed and went ✌🏼🙏 brilliant story and your photos dear 🥰💕

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  27. Oh wow Michele, this is such a romantically mysterious story. The unknown woman who became the model for the unnamed but now famous sketch artist has made her famous like the Mona Lisa. It’s always amazing the power under a full moon plays such an incremental part of passion, creativity, connectivity, and sensitivity. 🌝✍🏼🌕 Thanks for such an enjoyable and engaging read my Dancing Queen. Cheers to the next episode! 🤩🥂😘

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. It was a fun write, both the first and the second. 💞 I can’t wait to mee the artist too! I have a general story idea when I begin writing, then the story takes over, usually taking me in a completely different direction. 😁 Thank you, Conny, for appreciating and sharing a favorite line. I love learning that!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Layla! I’ve missed you! I know you are one busy writer. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond. Much gratitude! As you can imagine, I am having fun with this unwinding storyline. I value your engagement and thoughts here. I will be writing the third and final episode (I think) next week, with the next full moon. 🌚

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  34. I’m in love with this story! It explores how art can save us from ourselves in the best way. It’s so fun to imagine what the meetup will be like, how she might try to clumsily express how his/her art changed things inside her and how the artist might feel hearing those words. It’s really a beautiful and evocative piece.

    Like

    Reply

  35. Pingback: He Sketched Her ~ III (flash fiction) – My Inspired Life

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s