Musings on Life, Love, and Linguine-Poetry & Writing
Lizzie has walked by this gallery forever and it has never been open, but today it is.
‘Must be my lucky day.’ The moment she walks through the door, her hair rises on her neck. The atmosphere changes; the air damper, cooler and misty.
“Hello, anyone here?”
A voice answers, “Be with you in a minute. Take a look around.”
The lighting is in various shades of green which gives the room an ethereal quality. Shadows dance on the shiny concrete floor. The room narrows, and draws her to a solitary painting, which encompasses an entire wall. She’s in a spell; as if she has entered another time, another dimension.
Lizzie is shaken to her core when far away an interrupted cry echoes in the empty room. She turns around, realizes the cry is hers. She is now a prisoner, trapped forever.
©2021 Linda Lee Lyberg
Come join us at the pub. we have a new challenge at dVerse Poets Pub: Prosery #1
What a great way to use the prompt… now I’m wondering if she can be seen in that painting… a woman in a red dress forever smiling.
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Or screaming. LOL
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Oh dear!!! (Very nice writing)
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Thank you!
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Oh no! What do we do now????
You really sucked me into this tale!
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Thank you Vivian!
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🙂
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….entering a portal in error…..not understanding until that far cry is heard….GREAT story telling here!
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Thank you Lillian!
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I love so many things about this. The door that has always been closed. The painting as a portal. The strange lighting, the ethereal greens. First walking by the gallery “forever” and now trapped “forever.” Beautifully done!
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Thank you Victoria!
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A portal, disguised as a painting. I love that idea!
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Thank you Jade!
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You are welcome. There is also a mystery about why the store was open that day when it had been closed so many others. Perhaps waiting for the person to be ready for the portal? The kind of story that piques imagination is a good one.
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Yes, true. Thanks so much Jade.
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Love this Linda! The painting grabbed me right from the start. Then your story wound deeper and deeper. A real Hotel California for sure. Great work.
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Thank you Dwight!
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Reminds me of an episode from Dr. Who! 🙂
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Thank you Margaret!
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Stunning ending.
Happy Monday
Much❤✏❤
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Thank you!
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I wouldn’t normally go into an unexplored gallery on my own – now I don’t think I ever will! There’s something Hitchcockian about your story, Linda, and the painting has touches of M.R.James. I love the twist.
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Thank you Kim!
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Oh man, this was dark and wonderfully disturbing Linda! Something very similar happened to me. It was my first marriage.
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Hahaha!!! Good one Rob. Thanks much!
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Mysterious!
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Thank you Jane!
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🙂
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Goodness that is quite a twist in your story. I so enjoyed this share.
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Thank you Grace!
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That cry is the worst… when it is your own.
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Thank you Ken!
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Cool, creepy story with a killer ending, Linda!
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Thank you so much!
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I agree with Rob, my first marriage was portal from hell. I finally got out, but it took five years. Yours poem smacks of TWILIGHT ZONE.
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Haha! Thank you Glenn!
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So many comments about first marriages – took me 17 terrifying years to get out but I knew it was doomed at the honeymoon. Great work on the flash (for some of us not so much) fiction :).
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Thank you!
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Whoa! Great post! Reminds me of the old classic TV show Night Gallery!! Bravo!!!
xoxoxo
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Thank you Chuck! xoxoxo
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Always happy to read and share your poems with followers, Linda!
xoxoxo
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Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
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Yikes! Not her lucky day after all. Creepy.
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No, for sure! Thank you.
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Ah, the abiding anxiety tapped in a great story.
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Thank you so much!
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Most welcome.
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