On Monday mornings, I send out a story via email: ultra-brief tales of 1,000 words or more, usually in genres including horror, science fiction, and the supernatural. Those stories collectively are called Once Upon A Time. I’ve also published several ebooks and compendium volumes of those stories so far.

I’d love to have you as a subscriber to the weekly free story. You can subscribe via email here. Unsubscribe any time, from the link in every issue.

Here's story 181, of 240 so far.

Body Image

“Am I too thin?” the petite, raven-haired girl named Mei asked in consternation, looking down at herself. She was standing in her own bedroom, clad in the sixth outfit she’d tried on so far.

Her friend Alice, a platinum blonde from a bottle several weeks ago and getting a bit brassy now, rolled her eyes. Alice was heavier than Mei by at least twenty pounds, and had little patience for these endless discussions.

“Yes,” Alice replied. “You are. Two-dimensional. It’s not healthy, and you have my sympathy.”

Mei glanced at her, accustomed to this kind of reply. “I can’t find things that fit.”

“Tell me about it,” Alice replied, her gaze fixed on her phone but her attention focused on not sounding angry. It was so easy for Mei. Too thin. Like that was a real problem.

“I don’t even know why we get properly dressed up to go out anymore,” Mei said, still pulling at her own clothes, twisting to the left then the right. “It’s not like it’s a special occasion.”

Because you always insist on it, Alice thought but did not say. “Then don’t bother with it tonight, and we’ll just go,” she replied instead.

Mei frowned without looking over at her. The two had been friends for a very long time, even moving together so their friendship would endure. Alice could remember when getting ready to go out for the night had been a time of incredible excitement. They would put music on, loud, and try on outfits for an hour or more, after spending at least that much time putting on makeup and doing their hair. It was an extension of the evening, and a ritual, and a celebration.

But it had been different for a while now. Alice knew that she was plainer to look at than Mei was. She also knew that Mei was barely aware of her own appearance, except to be infuriatingly critical about it, and so in turn Alice held her tongue and refused to snap at her friend for her foolishness. The words and phrases bubbled up from her chest — like you don’t know what it’s like to be my dress size, or if only I had your problems — but she pushed them down again, unvoiced. Mei didn’t mean any harm. She just had her own body image issues.

“I wish I could wear brighter colours,” Mei said, changing the subject again. “But they just don’t suit me. I’m too pale.”

Anyone would look pale if all they wore was black, Alice thought. “Maybe you’re anaemic,” she said, and Mei rolled her eyes.

“Very funny,” Mei replied. “I’m serious though. I wish I could wear, like, yellow or something.”

“Yellow?” Alice repeated, the skepticism evident in her tone. “I don’t think yellow would be your colour. Red maybe. Purple. But not yellow.” She laughed, unable to help herself, and to her relief Mei actually laughed a little too before sighing dramatically.

“Still, though,” Mei said, throwing a dark-coloured skirt onto the growing pile of clothes on her bed. “Maybe I should buy some lighter shades just to see.”

“Why not,” Alice replied, losing interest. “Some places are probably still open. We can shop on the way to dinner.”

Mei shrugged, which was one of her most annoying habits. “Maybe next time,” she said. “Right now I just want to find something to wear so we can go. I feel like it’s been a year since we went out.”

“We were out two nights ago, and you know it,” Alice replied, now scrolling her phone again. “And it’s still early. You’ve got time. Pick something and just go with it. You have a lot of nice clothes.”

She was trying to be charitable, but she knew that Mei would hear it as an attempt to hurry her along. Which wasn’t entirely untrue either, of course. Alice put her phone down and crossed to where Mei was standing staring at the pile of garments.

“Look, why I don’t I pick some stuff for you to try on?” she said. “Something you’ve not worn recently. Or we can swap outfits.”

This offering drew a grudging smile from Mei, and Alice returned it despite the injury that was implicit in the self-deprecating joke. Her friend was incredibly selfish at times, but Alice found it hard to hold it against her because it came from a lack of awareness.

“Actually, you know what? Let’s just go,” Mei said. “This is fine. I’ve worn it before, and it was fine then, so it’s fine now. And it doesn’t even matter.”

Alice raised an eyebrow. “You sure?”

Mei just nodded, and Alice shrugged now, surprised but not wanting to make a big deal of it. After all, it was properly dark outside, and she was keen to go.

Mei walked over to the full-length freestanding mirror that she used as a coat rack (and bag rack, and scarf rack, and everything else), retrieving a wrap of black silk that was draped over the edge. It was a favourite accessory lately.

“Why do you even keep that thing?” Alice asked, gesturing towards the mirror. “Takes up so much space. It’s useless.”

Mei nodded, but she had a fond smile on her face. “I just like how it looks. Getting ready would be so much easier if I could use it,” she said.

They both looked over at the dusty glass, showing its reflection of the room and the piles of clothes on the bed, but not a glimpse of either of them standing directly across from it.

“Stupid thing,” Mei said, running her tongue over one of her teeth, even as the tooth began to extend from her gum line. She was thirsty tonight. Perhaps that was even why she’d been so grumpy.

“Ready, then?” Alice asked, opening the window to its fullest extent, her own teeth visible in the glow of the bedside lamp. Mei’s eyes were fully black now, accenting her outfit.

“Ready,” she said.

JINX

KESTREL face a new and terrifying enemy: an all-seeing mastermind who already knows exactly who they are, and many of their deepest secrets. Nothing stays hidden forever, and the line between privacy and liberty is razor-thin…

Book 3 in the KESTREL action-thriller series.

Find Out More

I'd love to hear any feedback or other thoughts; you can find my contact info here.

I encourage you to share this story with anyone you think would enjoy it. If you’d like to receive a tale like this via email every week, you can sign up to receive them here.

Thanks for reading.