I started collecting secrets when I was just six years old. At least, that’s the first one I can remember. I collected secrets like other boys collected marbles. I even kept them in an old milk jug, at first. They sparkled for me, mostly greens and blues. The prettiest ones were my favorites.
Secrets are everywhere now, in high school. Sarah loves Jimmy. Heather slept with Jimmy. Jimmy loves Sarah. Heather hates Sarah, even though they appear to be best friends. Most are not even worth the time it takes to collect them, so fleeting.
Jessica sashayed around the corner, Chris not far behind her. I didn’t usually bother with sexual secrets. Boys were prone to bragging, so the secrets never lasted. But the shame on Chris’s face was intriguing, so I took a chance. Walking behind him down the hall, I began to draw the secret from him. It’s shimmery mist floated into my hands, a bright red visible only to me. As it began to from a tiny, hard sphere, I entered a state of ecstasy and the secret brought me sustenance as images flashed behind my eyes: Jessica, on her knees behind the gym (no secret there); and Andrew and Jessica making out at the bowling alley while Chris lusted from afar. This was a little more intriguing, because Jessica’s wasn’t the intimacy he craved. I might be able to feed from this secret for a while. I tucked it into the 5th pocket of my Levi’s; it would go in the collection.
This 255 word flash fiction piece was written for Trifecta Week 74: Ecstacy.
Rebecca Barray - Writer/Photographer 