Friday 20 November 2009

#FridayFlash: A Brush With Death

by Maria Protopapadaki-Smith

The combination of 4 inch stiletto heels, cobblestone pavement and an attempt to fish out a cigarette packet from an overflowing handbag proved too much for her inner ear; she toppled over and felt the sharp pain of a twisted ankle. When she looked up and saw Death standing over her with his hand outstretched, she nearly had a heart attack.

"But - it's only a sprain!" she exclaimed.
"Oh, I'm not here for you. Just because I take lives doesn't mean I can't be a gentleman" said Death, with a smile. She blushed and accepted his help in getting up.

She heard a loud crash and turned to see that a bus had collided with a lorry. The bus was in flames and the lorry's cab was crunched up. People were screaming.

"Ah, that'll be my twelve o'clock, I must dash. See you soo - er, eventually", said Death, with a twinkle in his eye socket. She watched him saunter over to the vehicles and suddenly didn't feel like lighting that cigarette.


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I wasn't feeling very inspired this week. I was, however, craving cigarettes quite badly

29 comments:

  1. Excellent! And nice twist with Death just trying to be nice. He gets such a bad rep. Love the line: twinkle in his eye socket.

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  2. Wild. Very imaginative abd ddare I say it..fun!

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  3. Fantastic! Very funny with fabulous imagery.

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  4. Wonderful! Death does get a hard time. Who says he isn't just a nice guy doing a job? The last line is perfect.

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  5. Oh, I sooo enjoyed that! ;)

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  6. Which raises the question: so what did she die of in the end? :)
    Very nice!

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  7. I love Death as a character. Terry Pratchett does Death to a tee. So did you today missy.
    Death with a twinkle in his eye socket. HA!
    Karen :0)

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  8. Death as a gentleman? Love it!

    Great line about seeing her...eventually, haha!

    So, cigarettes can save lives, eh?

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  9. Loved it! You say you weren't inspired?? Death as a gentleman - great. :)

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  10. Well done! I'm sure it'll come as no surprise to hear that I approve of silly :)

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  11. Love it Mazzz! Who knew Death could be so kind? :)

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  12. Death as a likable character is always nice. We’re all going to die, so Death might as well at least be nice from a customer service angle. This does have a Terry Pratchett kind of feel (though if I recall, his Death always spoke in all caps). Nicely done!

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  13. Very good! Soon being cut off made the piece. Stories about Death, as morbid as the subject is, can be quite fun.

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  14. Love the combination of stiletto heels, cobblestone pavement, an overstuffed handbag, and a disoriented inner ear. (Ahh...the wise choices we make...) Death may be a gentleman, but he still seems just enough creepy to me! Enjoyed!

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  15. me likey, me likey! Very different from the other pieces you've posted. You give Death a good name. Peace, Linda

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  16. *bwahaahaa!* too funny!

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  17. This is great. I quit a few years back, and goodness knows it can feel like the devil is giving you a cigarette just to get you faster.

    Great read, thanks.

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  18. For what it's worth, I thought this was cute. A nice and concise job of keeping everything right there in front. A good piece, I thought.

    :)

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  19. Resist the urge! The end was a nice punch-line.

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  20. Cute! And I like the line about the twinkle in his eye socket too.

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  21. You know, my first take on this was that she was a streetwalker and Death was there to be anything BUT a gentleman. Great story.

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  22. I liked how the first paragraph set you up, and then the second set you straight. The comment about the "inner ear" threw me, I think it would be clearer without that phrase,but otherwise excellent! I really, really enjoyed this. Thank you.

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  23. Lovely bit of fun. I wouldn't be upset if Gentleman Death was a recurring character (hint,hint)

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  24. I happened to like it. Then again, me and Death as a character have been getting acquainted. Thank you for this really cute FF.

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  25. Death wnt return empty handed... she must have remembered... nice one :)

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  26. Death as a gentleman—seeming rather chipper. And why not? With a bus and lorrie full of dead and damaged souls. Not bad — coming from the uninspired.

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  27. As one who has spent a lot of time falling down, this had a very familiar ring. I loved Death. Perhaps he would like to visit my upcoming novel. Congratulations.

    Barb Relyea

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  28. Very funny, Maria. I really enjoyed it. Stay away from those smokes!
    ~jon

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