FLASH FICTION:-- HORROR, SCI-FI, HUMOUR, CRIME, SLICE OF LIFE, ETC.

Friday 6 April 2012

Inner beauty

Men were superficial creatures, Stella knew this, and she had known plenty of men in her time.

As each new one came into her life she took the time to discover the person beneath the facade, to look for the inner beauty.

Sometimes it could be hard work getting to know the deeper person, working ones way through the outer layers.

She wiped the back of her hand across her damp brow, smearing clear salt liquid with red, she was exhausted, and he hadn't really been worth the effort after all.

She glanced at the remains on the table, Marcus had a certain inner beauty, but she'd seen much better.

What she needed right now was a shower and some sleep. She tossed the dripping knife into the sink and set off towards the bathroom. She would clear the mess up in the morning.


©2012 Stephen. J. Green.

34 comments:

  1. I a thinking she took inner beauty a little more literally than most people. Crazy woman.

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    1. Haha! Yeah, I don't think Stella would take anyone at face value. :-)

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  2. Well, if she digs deep enough she just might find what she's looking for, although it all sounds a bit messy to me.

    I was thinking when I first started reading, what a nice person she was, then came the twist that had me saying ewww ^_^

    Good twist Steve!

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    1. Thanks Helen, well you know me, and the likelihood of a twist on these pages is at least fair-to-middling. :-)

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  3. Wonder if she found that elusive "quickest way to a man's heart"?

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    1. No doubt Tim, if the first cut is deep enough, then one would be enough. (Slash.. slash...)

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  4. If she could just stop carving up one man, bend him to her will, then she wouldn't have to worry about cleaning up the next morning #hasntthoughtthisthrough I could see where this tale was heading, but it didn't lack any punch to the solar plexus when it arrived!

    marc nash

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    1. Thanks Marc, you may be right, but I think she enjoys the challenge of finding the inside man. :-)

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  5. You totally caught me off guard with this one, Steve, even though, in retrospect, the first line did give some foreshadowing. Nice twist!

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    1. Thanks Chuck, I think Marcus may have been caught off guard too, BwuhahahaHAHAHAHA!

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  6. Whoa!!! totally unexpected and neat! How did this 'grisly' bear of a character come to you?! Tim's comment is so funny :)

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    1. Hi Brinda, I was working on the idea of "Beauty is only skin deep" when the thought of taking it in this direction came to me.

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  7. Literal minded people can have so much fun. However, I think I will stay away from Stella.

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    1. Y'know Aidan, I think I'll follow that line too. :-)

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  8. Stella sounds like the kind to steal a man's heart. And fry it with onions!

    I saw where it was going, third paragraph from the end, but that didn't take any of the punch out of the story at all. Nicely done.

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    1. Hiya Larry. Hmmm, fried heart, Yummy, followed by devilled kidneys maybe? :-)

      I put the line in about the blood smear as a lead-in to the ending, at first it was sightly more explanatory, but I decided to cut it down, working on the premise that "Less is more".

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  9. She definitely seems like an old hand at this business.

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    1. I would agree John, I may decide to write a follow-on at some time in the future.

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    1. Thanks Natalie, the shape of the quill makes the twists come easily. :-)

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  11. Your work is simply going from strength to strength, sir. And nice twist on it being a female looking for the inner beauty!

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    1. Icy, thank you so much for the very kind words and the confidence boost, it is very much appreciated.

      And as the saying goes... The female of the species is much deadlier than the male. :-)

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  12. I can't help but wonder what a 'good one' would look like. Maybe she really appreciates a healthy liver...

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    1. Well, beauty being in the eye of the beholder, you may be right Peter, or perhaps she admires a man with plenty of guts. (Ugh!!)

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  13. Wake up, dismember, shower, fava beans, chianti, bed, wake up, clean up. All in a day's work for Stella!

    Nice work, sir.

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    1. Aaah, yes. Not to forget the chianti and beans (Slurp,slurp).

      Maybe in her day job she's a Lecter... err, I mean lecturer. :-)

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  14. See, this is exactly why all those self-help books have so much to answer for. Lovely concept, and, um, execution.

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    1. Haha! Thanks Katherine. I shudder to think what kind of self help book teaches this sort of thing.

      Maybe one called:- "Feel the fear, but disect anyway." :-)

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  15. Love, prey, eat? ;)

    You've really been paring these back lately, it's pretty effective. Saw the twist coming, but still a great read. =)

    Men are like onions, peel back the layers and all you get is more onion... But you gotta try, right? ;)

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    1. Hi John, I didn't have food for her in mind, more like some kind of psychotic compulsion.

      I do like to see if I can make things work on a lower word count, it seems to carry more impact that way.

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  16. Haha! Inner beauty indeed. I wonder if she has any good marinade recipes...

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    1. Now Craig, would that be Marinade, or Marcusinade?
      BwuhahahahaHAHAHAHAHA!!!

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  17. There was a definite creepy cool to this... taut and svelte.

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    1. Thank you Anthony, creepy cool, and taut and svelte are comments very much appreciated. :-)

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