Flash fiction prompt — 09feb26

Zero serving zero

Beep. 

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

That was the first thing to fill the darkness. 

Beep. 

Beep.

Beep. 

The beeping was soft and light. It seemed to float in the darkness. 

Beep. 

With each beep, a shape started to form. Much like the beeping, it was soft and light. Four black wavy strings formed; then two black shimmering eyes. A body of bright colors followed. Was it as long as a person? Or the size of a hand? There was no concept of size in the darkness. 

Beep. The shaped bobbed up and down. 

Beep. The shape moved side to side. 

More black strings appeared. Then gold and silver strings followed, hanging from the body. Moving softly. 

Beep. The eyes were enveloped by a head. Underlined with a mouth. A massive tail formed. Beep. Strings of bright colors hung from the tail. 

Beep. Zero saw her outline standing below this bobbing object. So small. 

Beep. It moved away from her. But how?

“Stop!” She screamed in panic. 

Beep. Its head moved in an almost mocking manner. Beep. It floated away even more. “Wait! What are you?”

Beep. She began to run toward the object, floating softly away from her. 

Beep. “What are you?”

Without sound. Without fanfare, the word kite filled the darkness. 

Beep. Was this a kite? Somewhere she remembered that kites had strings. Where was its string? Why was she chasing it? Where was it leading her? 

Beep. 

Beep. 

Beep. 

The kite floated from darkness to light. The softness of its colors now glowed with a brightness unfamiliar to Zero. It hung in the light. Just bobbing. Shining proudly. 

Beep. Zero’s focus was on the kite. In her peripheral vision, black lines began to take shape. Sharp, angular lines. She was afraid of getting too close. Afraid they might hurt her. 

Beep. She took one step and broke through the light. Her heart sank at the thought of falling. To where? Who knew. But the kite floated higher, pulling her up, even with the light. 

Beep. She looked around. The jagged hole still at her feet. The kite still bobbing overhead. The light was white paper. White paper? And the sharp, angular lines became outlines of structures. Buildings at first. Plants. Animals. Other people. Were these really other people? Their outlines were so faint as compared to the heavy lines of the buildings. 

Beep. Was she seeing what she thought she saw? Another form like the one she was standing on floated past in the distance. What was this? A dream? A dream of. Place? A new home? The thought of a cloud filled her mind. 

Beep. A new home. That was important. But why. A new home in the clouds?

Beep. The kite moved and she felt herself being pulled with it. Through white streets outlined in black. Past building after building , white outlined in black. 

Beep. A white cat, outlined in black jumped across her path, startling her. But the kite kept pulling her along. 

 Beep. Everything was black again. The kites bright colors were soft again. It bobbed above Zero’s head. 

Beep. “Let go child.” A steady masculine voice filled the space.

“Let go of what?” Her voice squeaked. 

“Let go of the past. Let go of the kite. Let it float away. The past is holding you back. Keeping you from your new home. The past is weighing you down.”

Beep. She looked at the kite. An emptiness filled her that burned. 

Beep. A square of light opened in the darkness. A man dressed in brown is bent over a table. A flickering light is above his head. The kite seems to float above the square. “Let it go. It’s you. You are the hole. You are the darkness. There is nothing good in the past. Let it go.”

Beep. Zero takes her hands, rubbing them all over her body. The kite doesn’t move. It floats softly in the darkness. 

“There are no strings. I can’t let go.”

Beep. “You are the missing page. You are the hole. You are the darkness. Let go. Archive incomplete.”

Beep. 

Beep. 

Beep. 

Zero sat down in the darkness. The kite bobbed. What did it all mean? She was the missing page. She was the hole. Archive incomplete? 

Beep. 

Beep. 

What did it mean?

Beep. The kite began to disappear into the darkness. As gently as it appeared, it was vanishing. Bobbing and swaying as it went. 

Beep. 

Beep. The kite was gone. Leaving Zero feeling empty and sad. 

Beep. She too felt herself disappearing. Back into the darkness. 

Beep. 

“Archive complete.” The male voice announced. “Zero serving zero.”

*This is my contribution to Ravensweald’s flash fiction prompt.

https://ravensweald.com/flash-fiction-prompt-09feb26/