Sunday 16 June 2019

SAFE GROUND: 'Truth' by Dewayne

Flash Flood is continuing its 2019 National Flash Fiction Day celebration with a day of flash written on the theme of 'epiphany' by men at HMP Wandsworth who were participants of Safe Ground's Flash Fiction Project workshops.  You can read more about Safe Ground and the story behind this work in our introduction to this series.



'Truth'
By Dewayne


How do I know if she is telling the truth? Body language? Facial expressions? Who knows?

I really want to believe her when she says that she will pay back that money I lent her, but look at her. She looks like never before, shoulders hung, she’s fidgety, and not once has she made eye contact.

It makes my spider senses tingle. I know something is wrong. Two weeks back, when I asked her if she loved her boyfriend, wow, she started to burst with the passion of truth. She stood upright, shoulders back. She used hand gestures to describe things he had done for her. I could see in her eyes, and tell by the high pitch of her voice that she pictured everything she said in that very moment. She was glowing with honesty.

So the fact that I can hardly hear a word she says now, making me say ‘What?’ over and over, makes my heart race, my armpits sweaty, my fists clench, my teeth grit, my eyes bulge. And getting nothing back from her makes my bad feeling grow. I have things to pay for and nothing to pay with.

‘So will I get that £500?’ I ask again, trying to stay calm. She is a long-time friend after all.

‘Next week, I promise,’ she replies, in a low, slow voice as she walks away.


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You can follow Safe Ground on Twitter @Safe_Ground.

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