Here’s what you’ve all been waiting for… the grand prize winner for Salt & Sage’s first annual flash fiction contest!
To ensure impartiality, a new group of judges was called in for this final round. They went through the top scorers from each week and gave them their own rankings. Once all the rankings were in, the winner was clear: from our scarf week, Deanna Young’s entry!
Here’s what our judges had to say….
Read her amazing entry below…
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Beside a frigid puddle, muddy ice clinging to its fringes, the dingy scarf thinned and faded. Essence ebbed from his scarlet threads, colors draining away as he waited. Life was empty without a neck to encircle.
Footfalls filled the corridor, patrons rushing home.
Soon he’d be noticed. Saved.
A shuffling stop, a gasp. “Look at this. You want to come home with me, don’t you?”
Yes. Yes, I do.
By the next morning he was cleaned, hanging on a hook to dry. His colors brightened and he glowed with anticipation. He was going to be worn again.
Yet he hung. Forgotten, dying to be draped around a neck. Day by day his energy drained and he slept. Again waiting.
Finally, one evening an icy wind burst through the door, just enough to rouse him in his wasted state. His tassels waved, hefted by the flurry’s wispy fingers.
Delicate hands lifted him down. “I almost forgot about you. Scarf weather today, right?”
In moments he was wrapped around a warm neck, pulse beating in time with his hunger.
And he fed. Leaving behind nothing but a whisper as his meal disappeared and a gust carried him away, to wait once more.
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Check out Deanna’s fiction here, stay in touch with her on Instagram, and follow her on Facebook!
Dear authors, we have had such an enjoyable time hosting this flash fiction contest. What do you think–should we host this again next year? An annual December treat? Let us know what your favorite entry was in the comments!
