VisDare 53: Misplaced

This story is linked with Anonymous Legacy's VisDare, a weekly writing challenge hosted by Angela Goff and is being brought to you this week by the word "Misplaced" and the photo prompt below.

Photo Source

I stand by the door and pretend it's an escape portal toward another dimension. I put on my mask, switch off the lights, and hear my brother, Joey, wheezing between hits from his inhaler..

"Why did you turn off the lights, Molly?"

"Space is dark," I said.

I never understood Joey's fear of the dark. Had he forgotten what it was like hiding in corners where darkness served as our only guardian, protecting the value of our misplaced youths?

"I don't like this game,"  Joey said nervously.

"It's not a game," I told him, raising an index in the air. "It's a quest."

"Quest for what?"

I hear a drip coming from the hall. Joey said he heard a voice from there, but I told him there wasn't--not anymore.

I take Joey's hand, lead him outside to stand with me in the middle of a dormant night. "Our new home."

150 WORDS

Flash! Friday story: The Wish Fields

The following microfiction story was written for Flash! Friday, a weekly flash fiction contest taking place every Friday, and is hosted by Rebekah Postupak.  This past round's winner is Gordon B. White and is featured in this week's "Sixty Seconds" feature.

And now, my story...

~*~

"She was something," Edna said while overlooking the dry fields from her porch. "Wasn't always the great ballet dancer she turned out to be. She would let frustrations get to her too."

Emma's legs clanked as she walked over to her grandmother's side. "How did she deal with them?"

"She went into the fields one day--came back--became the greatest dancer ever known."

"How did going into the fields help her do that?"

"Emma!" Emma's mother called as she came out of the house. "Found your jacket, honey. We're running late to therapy, so we better get moving."

Emma hugged Edna. "Bye, Grandma."

"Bye, sweetie."

Emma's mother waited until her daughter was inside the car before turning to Edna. "Stop it!"

"What?"

"There's nothing in those damned fields! They're all just blatant lies!"

"Beg to differ," Edna's eyes shifted toward Emma then back to her daughter. "Your own baby came from those fields, honey."

155 WORDS