The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Sparkle
by Nina D’Arcangela

It looks glamorous, doesn’t it? The shine and sparkle. The soft filtered non-reality of what could be me. But that’s not the world I come from. My world is… different. A place of cuts and bruises, shaved heads, grime smeared faces with no placid smiles to be had. 

It’s a pretty facade, but a facade nonetheless. The sparkle you see in my eye isn’t glee, it’s the gleam of tears. The beautiful brush strokes on my checks have no shimmer, they’re gifted from a fist much hungrier than mine. Such pretty full lips, lips meant for a delicate fawn of a woman. There’s nothing delicate about the swollen skin from the last beating I took.

Yeah, it’s a lovely visage, but it’s fake. A world of simulated scintillations to draw the eye, fool the mind, but only a fool wouldn’t mind.

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Fiction © Copyright Nina D’Arcangela
Image courtesy of Pixabay

More from Nina D’Arcangela:

Bent Metal

Where does reality end and dreamscape begin?

Woken each night by the sounds of screams and twisting metal, Lauren must relive the panic and fear of discovering her brother’s broken body on the asphalt. But each morning, she finds it’s only a dream… One she doesn’t want to keep having.

At what point does a dream become a nightmare, and a nightmare more than a figment of her subconscious?

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Available on Amazon!