Sharp Shiny Things by Clio Velentza | Flash Fiction | #thesideshow

Sharp Shiny Things

Here is the sound of skin tearing. Here is the disreputable side effect of pain, which is pleasure. Here is a list of faces to forget, a list of names to never give your children. Here is the palimpsest of all you thought life was going to be. Here is a stranger sitting on your bathroom floor and they’re laughing at nothing in particular, their hair is sodden and there is an impressive collection of sharp shiny things between their outstretched legs, and they are asking if you’d like to try something new. Here is the foul-tempered creature that lives behind your solar plexus and tells everyone who asks if you’re okay to fuck off, that tells the stranger to fuck off. And here is the stranger who crawls back into the room on all fours, who climbs onto your bed while you shut your eyes, and they smell like something fermented, something recently dug up, and they say, baby, that’s up to you.

About the Author

Clio Velentza is a winner of ‘Best Small Fictions 2016’ and her work has appeared or is forthcoming in several literary journals, such as ‘Wigleaf’, ‘(b)OINK’, ‘Lost Balloon’, ‘Jellyfish Review’, ‘Atticus Review’ and ‘People Holding’. Find her at @clio_v.