February Flash Fiction
Does anyone else find it baffling that February is almost over, even if it is the shortest month of the twelve? The month’s “shortness” got me thinking about other sorts of shorts, such as short end, short-term, and shortcut. Being a logophile (a lover of words) and a grammar freak, I did online research and verified that short end is written as two words, short-term is hyphenated, and shortcut is one word.
It was not long before I meandered onto websites that posted lists of fun, unusual words. To retain my fresh vocabulary, I challenged myself to compose a piece of flash fiction that effectively applied them. Since my word adventure began with casual musings of this month’s mere twenty-eight days, I decided to pay tribute to February.
To toughen the mission, I chose eight words, each beginning with the corresponding letters that spell February, and incorporated each of those words into eight separate sentences. Since alliteration is one of my favorite literary devices, each sentence also includes this practice. The following short fiction salutes both the English language and the shortest month in the Gregorian calendar.
As she glanced at her bloodhound, his thick flews and floppy ears forced a smile to replace her frown. She edged eagerly toward him and stooped to envelop his evancalous self in a nurturing embrace. His eyes begged for attention and her bleeding heart longed to satisfy him but since she suffered from borborygmus, she brushed his backside, then plodded to the kitchen.
Opening the refrigerator doors revealed a rebarbative menu and since she hadn’t replenished her pantry, she decided to order out. Using her app for Uber Eats, she ordered an Ultimate Burger from Urban Outfeeders, then jumped in the shower to quickly wash her ulotrichous mop of hair.
“Now what?” she spoke aloud with arms akimbo as she arose from finishing her meal wearing a fresh attitude. Renewed and riant, she roused her sleepy pup, snatched his rubber frisbee, and raced him to the back door. In the yard, the young hound’s yare dexterity defied his mournful expression, strengthening her yearning to boldly journey beyond yesterday.
♦ Flews Evancalous Borborygmus Rebarbative Ulotrichous Akimbo Riant Yare ♦