Quiet Friend


By Savannah Hernandez

She has no face– this girl sitting and hugging her knees beside me. She has no face, but I can tell everything about her; her body says it all. She is shy, perhaps, easily frightened by me at first– as was I by her– but we learned neither of us was a threat to one another. I suppose she decided to stay– or perhaps I decided to stay with her, to keep her with me. Maybe I pity her, seeing her dressed in rags and her hair matted, and when I look into her home, it is nothing but bare floors and crumbling walls. I do not know her story.

“What is your name?” I ask her. She doesn’t answer; but then again, she has no mouth.

She stares with nothing but a faceless expression.

“Well…that’s okay,” I say. “I don’t remember mine either.”

Her shoulders slump, and she scoots closer to me.

“I promise to keep you safe.”

Savannah Hernandez writes, "This is . a chapter from my novella-in-flash that I am writing and developing.  This beginning piece focuses on the protagonist's first interaction with a "strange girl" she encounters who she names her "Quiet Friend." This story contains surreal and fantastical elements as this girl has no face.".


Author Biography: 
Savannah Hernandez is a creative story writer, poet, and visual artist who graduated from Cal Poly Pomona University with a Bachelors in English Literature.  Her themes often focus on healing, growth, and reflections on existence. Other published works can be found on her blog at thelilredwriter.wordpress.com.





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