{"id":1208,"date":"2008-04-04T19:26:00","date_gmt":"2008-04-04T19:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ink.verticalplus.co.uk\/archive\/?p=1208"},"modified":"2008-04-04T19:26:00","modified_gmt":"2008-04-04T19:26:00","slug":"flash-fiction-by-ginnetta-correli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/flash-fiction-by-ginnetta-correli\/","title":{"rendered":"Flash fiction by Ginnetta Correli"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE BABY POOL<\/span>


I want to fly like a snail. Yes, snails fly in their minds, so does the brain of the ocean.<\/span>
Does a man want to drown in the ersatz desire?<\/span>
You must understand me. I know you and I swam together. They call it escape velocity. You, were the expatriate, calling yourself “Moondoggie.” All the Roxie girls on the beach desired you.  Me, a strange expatriate. No, not a blonde girl named Gidget.<\/span>
The sea was black that day and the sky a mass of condensed vapor. Yet, somehow I pulled a boy to a deep, forming swell and spoke to him: “Hold your breath and go under the wave.”<\/span>
“I don't swim with black fish.” The boy lied, smiling to his friends, waving with one wrist like a windshield wiper moves in the rain. He kept trying to move back to the drunk dots on the sand.  The boy was afraid. I could tell. <\/span>
I kept a firm grip on his foot. The next dark envelope started to fold.<\/span>
“Watch me.” I told him.<\/span>
I pushed my head under the ocean disguise, pulling him close. Deep we went. I could feel a man trust me below a vigorous excavating waterspout\u2026 our bodies together as one in our minds. Grabbing his middle with my lips, I blew as best I could with what short time I had. I knew the man craved nourishment and liked my milk.<\/span>
I could tell by the way he closed his eyes. Thrusting under my warm blanket until a kernel popped.  A wet push for us to a cream foam, surface release.<\/span>
The boys watching from the shore jealous of our wave. Tossing together as plugs on a solarium, hydrated platform for all to see. No, I was not ashamed. The man belonged to me. The sea.<\/span>
Yet, phlebitis is inevitable for the weak of heart. The boy pretended to choke and came too soon, spitting water from his teeth. He grabbed his slip-and-slide and ran to his buddies on the dirt.<\/span>
Moondoggie-babe, you still have not learned how to fool Mother Nature.  Thank God you're still alive… <\/span>


~ ~ ~ ~ ~<\/span>


EMERGENCY STABLE<\/span>


I don't see you. Is it you Daddy? Say yes.<\/span>
My hand reaches for him. The orange hot prong licks me from behind. Dad? Daddy? The barn is burning! The smoke is thick near the pen. A doe cries and rams the old wood gate. Her fawn already dead with the mother's love. I am too burned to open the gate.<\/span>
Come here, child, you seem tired. I can ease your pain\u2026 let you rest. Sit with me, relax a bit.<\/span>
“Where is my Dad? Why can't I hear him? I want my father.”<\/span>
I hear you and understand your dilemma. Girl, listen to me instead<\/span>
“No, I cannot exhale anymore. Daddy, why won't you help me?” Fire burns my red ass. Father does not speak to me. I still cannot see him.<\/span>
“Come, child, breathe” I feel a needle prick my arm. A thin, plastic cord on my vein.<\/span>
Pump…pump…<\/span>
I know what to do\u2014stuff a large handful of hay in my mouth. Good girl. Hold it. Close your eyes. Do not exhale. Good vain girl. Keep holding.<\/span>
“Shit… She's coding.” Nurse Lucy watches lines falling on a screen.<\/span>
No, they will never catch me.<\/span>
“Come on, breathe!” Doctor Zhivago screams in my ear.  Father stares from behind the glass.<\/span>
No, they cannot catch me.<\/span>
“She's drowning…” Nurse Lucy watches the doctor beat my chest.<\/span>
I run through the amber.<\/span>
“Let her go,” Father finally yells. Of course, they do not let go.<\/span>
“1, 2, 3…clear!” Doctor Zhivago starts to defibrillate my sternum.<\/span>
“1, 2, 3…breathe!” Chest thump. Burn…burn.<\/span>
“Doctor, she's still drowning.”<\/span>
“Lucy…what do you want me to do? Choke her?”<\/span>
“Come on girl breathe! Come on, breathe!” More burns.<\/span>
I race through the amber. No, they cannot catch me.<\/span>
“Let her go,” Father whispers from behind the glass.<\/span>
My cheeks puffed. A resin dust behind me. I stare at myself when I know it is safe. The girl's face a charred turtle shell. Her spirit removed. A smile relieved.<\/span>
No, they never catch me.<\/span>



\u2022 Ginnetta Correli is the author of a soon to be released novel called the <\/span>Lost Episodes of Beatie Scareli<\/span>. You can find out what it's about at <\/span>http:\/\/beatiescareli.com<\/a>  Some of Ginnetta's writing will appear soon in print at <\/span>Diet Soap<\/span>. She lives near Las Vegas and works at some of the hotels on the Strip. <\/span>

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THE BABY POOLI want to fly like a snail. Yes, snails fly in their minds, so does the brain of the ocean.Does a man want to drown in the ersatz desire?You must understand me. I know you and I swam together. They call it escape velocity. You, were the expatriate, calling yourself “Moondoggie.” All the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prose-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1208\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}