My outer shell splits in two. It sits beside me, hollow and smiling, waiting for the next layer to be pulled apart and placed beside us.
There are six. I have six faces that are exactly and precisely me. Yet different.
Some eyes are blue, some green or brown. Some lips red, others pink or peach.
Each one me.
Each one not.
My lunch tray, full of steaming food, makes me gag. Clatter of a dropped fork, shrill pitch of laughter, blur of clothing… These crack my next shell.
Over and over until I am small.
Human nesting doll.
Flash Fiction Challenge over at Carrot Ranch
April 2, 2016 prompt: Agoraphobia – In 99 words (no more, no less) write a response to an agoraphobic moment. Explore the character’s discomfort.
Agoraphobia as defined by Mayo Clinic
Lemon Shark Reef 
At first, I thought this was clever and cute! And it is…but the more I read it, the more I see the layers of how complex it really is. Brava, Sarah! ❤ #mast
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I’m oh so clever. And cute! 🙂 I’m also layered and complex. I’m liking this comment more and more. ❤ Glad you could get the depth from it after another read-through. #mast
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Yes you are…you are…you are and you are….and I’m glad! 😉 ❤ #mast
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❤ #mast
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What a powerful concept and so well executed in a flash fiction! That continuous cracking, oh so painful.
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It is painful to crack that way. Yet there is another “you” always waiting underneath, isn’t there. It’s so like you that others don’t notice the subtle differences.
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Love it Sarah. Unexpected ending as it also described a human life.
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Thanks, Irene. I could have perhaps been more obvious about it being a person from the beginning. Twist endings can be tough.
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No I didn’t get you were human but that was probably because the photo put me out there on a path believing you were writing about nesting dolls. I did get the humaness of what you described and therefore I think despite getting it wrong I got it right and you were successful in your aim. I loved it.
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Thanks. 💕 I’ll take that as a win.
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Safe and protected from the clatter and the shrill and the blur… Sarah, this is so powerful, so hauntingly beautiful and so very sad… ❤
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Thank you, Sherri. ❤ Yes. Safe and protected until the cracking starts…
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❤
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This is so sad, Sarah. It expresses the pain so well, I can almost touch it. I can feel the anguish. It’s tragic that no one else can see and help her hold it together. Things that nobody else would notice, and therefore don’t understand, tear her apart. The need for understanding and compassion is so important.
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Yes. It’s so, so important. If you can’t relate to it, and many cannot, you must at least try to be compassionate about it. Sometimes people are alone in their struggles to get through a situation no one else even knows is there. Thanks, Norah. ❤
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Some peel back the layers as you describe. Others curl up into a little ball and disappear into the shadows in the corner. Look after yourself, my friend. Hugs xo
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Brilliant!
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Thanks, Anne. Much appreciated. I wonder if people can tell when we crack open and get a little bit smaller?
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This is awesome! I have one of these from russia! you really are a master of writing Brentyn
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I know, I love these. I have one, too from…no idea where. But it’s old. Like me. And thank you. 🙂
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