Welcome to My Monday Minis.
This is where I review very short stories and flash fiction.
For today I’ll be telling you about The Rain Wouldn’t Take Away The Pain
by Cedrix E. Clarke
The cover left me clueless, but it did catch my eye while browsing for a short story.
I downloaded this for free and want to say thanks to Cedrix and to all of you wonderful authors for your free books.
How else could I afford to sample so many different stories.
What was supposed to be a lovely drive to my parents house for Thanksgiving was turning into something more serious.
Mary, a brilliant and lovely young woman and possibly the love of my life, was showing an unusual side of herself.
I never realized she was so insecure about how strangers would feel about her.
I was trying to figure this out, but the odd noise coming from under my car was a distraction. I should have got that looked at before we left. Also, as I was behind the wheel, I needed to pay attention to the road.
I admit, I was a bit over it with her worries, but I felt a need to reassure her, and to find out what she was so afraid of.
Meanwhile, I’m worried about those noises still coming from under the car. They seem to be caused by turning to the left, so I baby the car around those turns. The tunnel ahead, created by a canopy of thick trees, is a straight shot and we are almost to my parents, so I feel safe to speed up.
There, smack dab in the center of the road, stands a magnificent buck. Expecting him to move, I’m surprised when he calmly gazes at me, standing motionless.
I keep expecting him to move as I draw nearer. If he doesn’t, maybe I can go around him.
I apply the brakes, not knowing what the deer will do….
So much in such a short story.
The conversation between these two lovers and the introspection by the narrator make you feel like a fly on the wall, viewing and listening to everything.
The conversation flowed so naturally and the scenes were depicted in visual detail.
As the story progressed, I became curious about Mary and what was going through her mind to make her so worried. But, then I felt this creeping sense of dread, of suspense. Somehow, without really mentioning it, the author weaved in this calm before the storm feeling. I began to anticipate what could be coming.
What came, was so different from what I was thinking. I actually wasn’t sure what would happen, but I never saw this coming.
The Rain Wouldn’t Take Away the Pain will make you think. It will make you ask yourself some poignant questions and it will push the limits of believability.
This is a very short story that left me with a “what do I know” feeling.
4 Stars
About the author
Cedrix E. Clarke is a pseudonym for a Kentucky writer that has written his entire adult life, but only recently began publishing. Cedrix has a professional day job in a small town in Kentucky and writes at night, and like most comic book heroes, he must protect his identity. Cedrix does not fight crime…not yet, anyway.
For more about the author and his books:
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