Life in chunks. Not the way we all see it all the time, but if you consider the structure of this piece with Elizabeth Kübler-Ross in mind, you may. Though the overall theme may seem bleak, there is a peacefulness to it. A mango-colored calm.
Have a lovely winter break and thanks to everyone for making the SA Current Flash Fiction blog and once-a-month Best Of what it is. This is a unique and excellent San Antonio literary niche. Help make it even better in 2012 by continuing to spread the word. — Lyle Rosdahl
“Progression”
by Nicole Cohen
One. The mango light leaks across the horizon and spills into the air in my lungs as I ride on my father’s shoulders. He carries me across the threshold, and I start to cry.
Two. I drive in the car with my mother until we come to a stoplight broken, flashing red. She says it means we have to wait for our turn because the other cars have right-of-way. I am impatient, and I don’t understand why they seem to have rights that we do not.
Three. I sit at the edge of the pool by the deep end with my figurines, connecting their snap-together hands to form a chain, repeating this over and over and hoping that maybe next time the plastic links will be long enough and strong enough to stretch across the water. The plastic doesn’t budge; there is no bridge.
Four. There is heat and fear, and colors flash past like the heat and like the fear that I will see again later when I close my eyes, and even later like the fire I’ll show the world if just to wake it up. I roll over and take a sip of water.
Five. I sit in a room alone. It’s just me and the mango walls, and everything else fated to be consumed by the ravenous progression of time. •
Lyle Rosdahl, a writer living in San Antonio, edits the flash fiction blog & best of in print for the Current. He created, facilitates, and participates in Postcard Fiction Collaborative, a monthly flash fiction response to a photo. You can see more of his work, including photos, paintings, and writing at lylerosdahl.com. Submit your flash fiction for consideration in future posts and selections to flashfiction@sacurrent.com.
This article appears in Dec 28, 2011 – Jan 3, 2012.