[short story] The Only Way
This was to be the 1st flash story for Flashnano 2022 with the prompt "Write a story that includes the taste or smell of cinnamon (Americans you can use pumpkin spice! xoxo)"
Original version was finished on 2022-12-26.
The skies were light blue, changing into azure as it stretched towards the horizon hiding behind the blinding white clouds. Eve was having none of it; the narrow path inlaid with rocks and surrounded by grass was all that kept him from falling and he knew that his fall would be endless. Despite being tall, reasonably well balanced and named after the highest mountain on Earth, his fear of heights could not be overstated. Yet he had to move on.
Along the way estranged friends and old vices were haunting the stranded man, trying to distract or trick him into closing the distance to the edge and eventually dropping. In the morning, I won't remember any of this, he thought. Eve could not have guessed how much he had walked and turning back his head, there was no discernible sign to aid him guessing.
What's this smell?
A faint voice took over his focus that vaguely sounded like "ow" as he bumped into the girl standing in his way.
Is it cinnamon?
"Sorry, I didn't see you" he mumbled, unsure of what to do next; other people in the dream had always initiated conversation or acted out their roles, but she just stood there in her oversized hoodie without a single word.
No, it can't be.
Her long, wavy brown hair covered most of her face that's color reminded him of---
My mind must be playing trick on my senses, I never felt any smells in my dreams.
She whirled around and took off. Eve closely followed her footsteps, as if drawn to the girl by an invisible force. They walked and walked and walked, until she steered towards a singular flower in the grass. They stopped and she turned to face Eve, holding out her hand for him to hold onto before leaping over the edge.
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