She Stood, by Michael Buckingham Gray

She Stood, by M. Santarelli (Australia) Contemporary.

​She Stood

She stood upstairs. The sun rose. Did he say today, or tomorrow? The baby cried. I am sure he said today. What day was it anyway? Sunlight hit the carpet. If it was the start of the week, it would be tomorrow. And if it was a day into the new week, it would be today. The baby cried. The sun dropped. I am sure he said today.

Michael Buckingham Gray


This short story first appeared in  Flash: The International Short-Short Story Magazine.

Editor's note: This is a reverse ekphrasis- the painting was created to go with the flash fiction.

Michael Buckingham Gray is a Best Microfiction and a Best Small Fictions nominated writer and creative writing tutor. His writing has appeared in The Fortnightly Review, Flash: The International Short-Short Story Magazine and other magazines. Some places he has tutored at include the University of Notre Dame Australia, Workshop Freo, and Intuition Educational Support.

Elle Santarelli has painted throughout Europe as a tool for immersing herself in the different cultures, as a trade for accommodation and a way to understand and relate to the setting. She has painted murals from a hostel in Rome to a surf shop in Morocco, a bar in Spain to the Berlin Wall. Now back in Australia, she has immersed herself in the humble settings of the Mid West and painted Michael Buckingham Gray's flash fiction stories, using similar techniques. She has painted with the youth at STAY and recently completed a mural at the new community centre.