Microfiction 003 / "Almost Love"
A romance short story by Lindsay Elizabeth (with author's notes)
“Almost Love” by Lindsay Elizabeth
I’ve avoided this bar for years. The heartache pangs anew every time I pass it, like an old song pulling me back through time.
A love that almost was shouldn’t cut this deep, but I suppose that’s why it does. Timing and serendipity hadn’t been on our side. An open-ended question, left unanswered.
I smile through the after-work drinks and beer-battered fries as a musician takes the stage. My heart tumbles at the deep, familiar voice.
“It’s my first time playing here in a while.” His green eyes are on mine. “This one’s about the girl that got away.”
AUTHOR’S NOTES
The following prompt inspired this short story with the challenge to write 100 words in 24 hours:
Genre: Romance
Action: Reuniting with a past love
Word: Serendipity
I struggled with this one for hours, not clicking with any of my ideas initially, so I stopped working on it and put on some music while I shifted my attention to something else. “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift came on, and then it hit me.
Most of us have had at least one “situationship” that remains unfulfilled and haunts us with what could have been. I wanted to explore that in this microfic incorporating the idea that one of them is a musician expressing their unresolved feelings to the other through music. (Thank you for the inspo, Taylor!)
Music is one of my biggest sources of inspiration, so it’s fitting that it not only inspired this piece but that it plays such a big role in the story itself, too.
Thank you so much for reading! I’d love to hear what this story made you think and feel, so head to the comment section if you’d like to join the discussion.
Feel free to use the prompt to inspire your own short story. Please tag me if you publish it or share it below so I can read it!
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Oh I love this so much.
This is SO intriguing. I am so obsessed with your microfics ❤️