Self-Review – Beauty is Only Earth Deep

Let’s Look at Beauty is Only Earth Deep

Beauty is Only Earth Deep is kind of a small snack of a story. It’s a little better than a vignette, and I suppose I could expand upon it. Or not.

It might even be the kind of thing that could end up as a drabble or in a collection of flash fiction. It’s kind of the ultimate cut to the chase story, I suppose you could say.

I wrote this story during the third quarter of 2021.

Background

The original prompt word was iris.

I love irises, and I grow them in my yard. I even carried them in my bridal bouquet!

Plot

Humanity’s first contact with unnamed aliens comes with a demand for the most beautiful things we can muster—in ten minutes. And if we can’t do as they require, then we’ll be destroyed.

No pressure.

Can Colette, her neighbors, and everyone else on the planet ever hope to satisfy the aliens’ demands in time?

Characters

The characters are Colette and her neighbors, who I don’t name.

Memorable Quotes from Beauty is Only Earth Deep

Colette stared at the aliens’ instructions for a moment.

Bring the most beautiful thing to us in one one-hundredth of your planet’s rotation or be destroyed.

“Pretty damn straightforward,” she muttered. “At least everybody got the same message. Those aliens are going to end up with seven billion roses is if they don’t watch out.”

Rating for Beauty is Only Earth Deep

The story has a K rating. This story is very short and does not have the time to get into anything nasty, messy, or unsuitable for mixed company.

Much like Colette, I had to find what I wanted post haste.

Takeaways for Beauty is Only Earth Deep

Like the vast majority of the one part, quickie stories I wrote in 2021, this one is more of a fragment than anything else. Still, I like the idea of making it so our last, best hope of survival can come from just giving up something beautiful.

But if the aliens would prefer velvet Elvis paintings or AstroTurf or dumpsters, then I guess we’ve had a good run.

And maybe, when I want to add some more depth to this one, I could make something more of it. After all, who are these aliens, anyway? And who are they to dictate such terms to us?

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Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

Short Stories

Finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.