Waiting (a 100-word story)

Veronica tapped her lacquered nails on the mahogany table. The wall clock ticked deafeningly in the dim room, lit only by fading candlelight. Shadows flickered over her tight red dress, her glossy brown curls, her painted crimson lips. Her glazed eyes stared at the empty chair opposite and the cold plate of untouched steak and chips.

Today was meant to be a fresh start for their fractured marriage. But she should have known by now that he couldn’t – no, wouldn’t – avoid temptation. She could wait a lifetime and nothing would change.

Veronica rose calmly. She had a bag to pack.

(Word count: 100 words)

Emma H, age 26, 06/09/2017

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This piece of microfiction was written for Tara’s 100 Word Challenge at The Thin Spiral Notebook. To partake, you can follow the link here:

100 Word Challenge: Waiting

I have always struggled with word limits. They have been the bane of my student life. Too many times I was forced to cut literally hundreds of words from my essays, each deletion like a wound in my writer’s soul. Conciseness was never really my strong point. But as difficult as this was, I actually enjoyed the challenge; so I might be taking part more often! 🙂