Two teenagers in a cemetery. They prop their laptop against a tombstone. A faint name scrawled there—Alastair or Archibald, died age 15. Wispy fingers pat the girl’s hair, shake the boy’s hand, offer them a spray of white meadowsweet. No one screams. The three new friends share ghost stories.
Beth Sherman’s writing has appeared in over 100 literary journals and will be in The Best Microfictions 2024. She’s a Pushcart, BSF, and BOTN nominee.
The meadowsweet — which symbolizes purity, peace, and youthful innocence, and is often used to attract love and happiness — in absolutely wonderful. Brava!
Every word is perfect.