The assignment for our third flash fiction was to write a piece where you could only use words that were 6 letters or less. There was an exclusion list, but I don't think I used any of those words. And again, an attempt was made to hide authorship. I don't think anybody guessed that I wrote this one.
I don't know if that's good or not.
Sunset
He holds her hand and helps her climb down to the craggy rocks below. They step around thorny bushes, moving to a clear slab of wind blown stone. They sit and huddle close to each other for warmth. His hand finds hers, and they wait, still and silent, as the sun slowly moves to its end of day ritual.
The cape juts out from the land, a rocky point that houses the temple to the sea god. Choppy water rushes to meet the rugged coast thirty feet below the temple. Surf sprays the ground, making the uneven paths slick. The few plants that cling to the cape remain small, afraid to battle the wind and water.
He turns to her, places a kiss upon her cheek. His hand pulls a strand of auburn hair away from her eyes and curls it behind her ear. A finger keeps in touch with her skin, slides down her face to her chin, up and over her lips, then leaves, for a brief second, to return with a light tap on the tip of her nose. She laughs and smiles, her gaze still to the west.
The sun, larger than ever, burns deep red as it meets the sea. An island is shown in stark relief, purple and maroon sky ablaze behind it. The sea boils and flames as the sun meets its end. Paths of color streak away from the point of impact, bottles of wine poured over the sea - merlot, shiraz, pinot noir.
"It's lovely." She turns to him, his gaze still intent upon her. "You missed it."
The temple glows red as each column holds onto the last light of the day. The cool marble shines, just as it did ages ago. At last the sun sinks into the sea, and the temple goes dark.
"I didn't come here for the sunset."
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