Fiction: Propaganda & Horizon

Propaganda

Ezra slammed the article down on her boss’ desk.

“This is wrong,” she hissed, “This whole article is just-“

“Propaganda?” Her boss smirked. “Ezzie, that’s the point. We print what the party tells us to. That’s the way it’s always been, and the way it always will be. Get used to it, or you’ll never get anywhere in this business.”

Ezra blanched. “I could never,” she said, “We’re supposed to tell people the truth, not fill their heads with lies.”

He laughed. “Like they care,” he said, “As long as they’re entertained our readers will read anything we feed them. They’re like pigs, in a way.”

Horizon

The dirt fell onto the coffin. Clump after clump it clattered onto the wooden surface, eventually covering it from view. Elle closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, pulling back the aching sensation in her throat. As she opened her eyes again, she turned and walked away. How could she stay with the reminder that she would never see him again?

She turned and walked to her car. She climbed in and started it, but before she could put it into gear the ache caught up to her and she gasped out a sob. This couldn’t be happening. It didn’t feel real. She couldn’t go on.

A warmth seemed to spread through the car. A golden light started to glow around the car, and Elle looked up to see the sun dip into the most beautiful sunset she’d ever seen. It highlighted a solitary dogwood tree, giving the white flowers a golden, sacred glow. She breathed in deeply. He was still with her. It would be okay.

Author's Notes: Sometimes I like to write to prompts. The prompt for this was the iTunes shuffle challenge, where you put your iTunes (or other music player) on shuffle and have to write a story inspired by whatever song comes on, in the time limit of the song. It's a fun prompt, and lead lead to writing about themes I don't usually write about. I don't remember what the first song was, but the second song for "Horizon" was "Into the West" from The Return of the King soundtrack. I liked what I did with it so much I ended up turning it into a short story for class.