Flash Fiction – Crushed Peach
Around her sprawled the town, laid out like a ruin. The once beautiful, stony façade of the castle sat shattered in the twilight, and a tattered scrap of red hung limp in a crevice of the broken cobble. Her gloved hand reached out to caress the fabric, but she stopped short. Her throat felt tight with longing.
"M-Mario," came her shaking voice, "I'm, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" Her tears came hot and fast down her cheeks. She fell to her knees, her muddy skirts pooled around her. "This is all my fault. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough."
A drop of rain fell from the starless sky onto a mushroom growing nearby. Another fell on her tangled hair. Soon the heavens had opened to release a sea of tears for the fallen hero. They washed over her skin along with salt tears of her own.
"Just this once…" Peach's voice reflected her castle. Her sobs caught the words leaving them stuck in her throat. "I wanted to be strong for you… just this once. I never meant for you to come after me. I wanted to save myself!" Suddenly her gaze shot to the sky and she screamed. "I wanted to be strong for you!"