“True” by Spandau Ballet serenaded us as we shuffled side to side in rhythm. No one else in the hall was in love like we were, not my friends at the table sipping Cinzano, not the DJ, not even the other smooching couples. Only you toyed with my hair as we swayed, folded me into you, teased your hip to mine. Only you caught my breath in yours. My heart was whole, virgin, unsullied. The annihilation was yet to come. I didn’t foresee looking back on this moment, rewinding, replaying, holding you in a freeze frame, asking why, why did your love just stop?
Originally a journalist and sub-editor, Sarah Barnett’s flashes have been published in FlashFlood 2021, Free Flash Fiction, Paragraph Planet, Retreat West, and Five Minutes. Find Sarah on Twitter @SarahBooga.