She tiptoed around his moods like a drunken ballerina.
Her choreographed steps danced in and out of debris. Delicate footfalls amid the shattered remains of their relationship.
She knew when to pirouette so as not to get cut.
Practiced in the art, she executed jumps and leaps knowing exactly where her feet would land—between scattered bits of betrayal and contempt.
Home was a minefield. In those rare performances when her foot slipped, she set off explosions, creating more rubble, and learning new dance moves.
Faith worked hard, living each day with the beauty of her intricate steps unnoticed.
Flash Fiction Challenge over at Carrot Ranch
November 18, 2015 prompt: Dance – In 99 words (no more, no less) write dance into your story. Twirl your characters round and round or stomp your plot onto the page. Use dance in any way that comes to mind. Be specific or free, tango or disco.
Lemon Shark Reef 
You absolutely are masterful at weaving in those topics into your work. You’re a wonderful writer, Sarah. #mast I love this.
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Thanks, Eric! ❤ Much appreciated from a beautiful writer such as yourself. #mast
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Wow, that opening line followed by this character’s tragic dance is both powerful in content and masterful in craft. I came over here expecting some 80s cheese and lost my grin quickly. So hard for women caught in this ugly dance.
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Thank you. What a lovely comment. Nope, no Flashdance here. Just a dance in a flash. And a beautifully tragic one at that. ❤
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Fabulous, Sarah, from first to last! What a fabulous image of the drunken ballerina – reminds me of this from the McGarrigles
Do you know it ?
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No, thank you for posting. I’ve never even heard of the McGarrigles. How beautiful. And I’m glad you liked the flash. ❤
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Great take on the flash, Sarah. Such imagery!
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Thanks, Pete. 🙂
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Well done Sarah. You captured what so many women do around their menfolk in their efforts to maintain peace in the household. Powerful stuff.
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Thank you, Irene. Much appreciated.
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Close to home this…powerful, beautiful, tragic, real… ❤
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Thank you, beautiful lady. ❤ Your comment means a lot.
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Lovely piece. I’m going to add some critique and say I’d prefer the piece without drunken in the first line. I’ve been in abusive relationships, and the degree of care taken to survive is incompatible with being drunk.
But other people like it, so feel free to blow this off. It’s quite a lovely read as is.
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I get that. I was trying for something with the steps having to be so calculated and having their own beauty in that sense but not being as choreographed as a professional ballet. I was trying to create an image. It’s not that she isn’t alert and aware but she can’t have the fluid movements of a stage performance. Perhaps it would be better with a substitute word… Thanks. ❤
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