Leaving
100 Word Microfiction
Before the fear reached up from her belly to clasp her throat, she told herself that she would count three things in the room.
1) Blue handicap sign. Shiny, like vinyl. Should she be sitting here? Never mind—
2) Striped carpet: green, blue, and purple-grey. Why would they put carpet on a ferry? Wouldn’t tile be easier to clean? Anyways—
3) Water— colors similar to the carpet— sprawled left, right, and fore. Behind her, the mainland was a solid black strip not a kilometre in the ship’s wake. From the windows of the sundeck, she couldn’t see the Home anymore.
About the Creator
Jennifer A. G.
🇨🇦 Canadian Writer, Painter & Embroidery Artist
♾️ Métis Nation
🎓 University of Victoria Alumna
📝 Publications: The Malahat Review, Freefall Magazine, Geist, Best Canadian Poetry 2026
Keep reading
More stories from Jennifer A. G. and writers in Fiction and other communities.
The steps to losing a child
Step One: Lose a child. Not what anyone wants to happen and nothing you can do to change it, but you can go through steps to becoming happy again. You can go through steps to loving again. You can go through steps to become a new you because after losing a child you will never be the same person you once were.
By Tabitha Hinkley3 days ago in Fiction
Standing While Falling
Quotation from Friedrich Nietzsche "He who wrestles long with monsters should beware lest he himself become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you. Man is not destroyed by suffering, but by the meaning he makes of it."
By LUCCIAN LAYTH6 days ago in Critique
Comments (1)
I confess to feeling a bit of confusion here, haha. 😅 The hand from belly to throat feels ominous, even violent. But if it's her own hand, she must be feeling anxious. What is happening here? It seems as though she could be remembering a violent act...and trying to prevent a panic attack, maybe, by noticing the three things. Could this be why she's leaving in the first place? Also, the belly must be significant...pregnancy? I'm glad she got away, let me just end with that! 😥