Beware of Her Icy Stares

A woman can only take so much

Karen Schwartz
First Line Fiction
Published in
2 min readJul 31, 2024

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A young woman with rosy cheeks and red hands pulling her coat around her while sitting on a park bench.
Created with Bing AI image creator — AI-generated

Shivering on the frosty bench, she pulled her thin coat tighter against the icy wind, her bare hands red and raw. The arctic wind threatened her safety, but less so than back home. The place where HE ruled, and she had succumbed to his fury.

Five years married with no relief. The beatings had grown more frequent, Colton’s disparaging words harsher, her life becoming a nightmare too hard to bear.

Jade reached into her pocket and pulled out the tattered, unsigned form. If only Colton had agreed to grant her sole custody, Juliet, their eight-year-old daughter, would be alongside her.

No matter, Jade huffed as her frozen breath decorated the air. She’d go back and take her, anyway.

With stiff limbs frozen to the touch, she trudged home, grabbed the pointed icicle, and plunged the tip into Colton’s heart.

The murder weapon melted out of sight within hours.

This fictional short form is in response to the prompt to include the following first line, “Shivering on the frosty bench, she pulled her thin coat tighter against the icy wind, her bare hands red and raw.”

My heart goes out to women and men everywhere who are living in abusive relationships. May they find their happy ending free of violence and strife.

Thank you, Liberty, for creating this exciting new pub.

I’m including some friends who enjoy fictional first-line prompts to learn about First Line Fiction. If you wish to be removed, please let me know.

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Karen Schwartz
First Line Fiction

Children's picture book author, fiction writer, personal essayist, kindness specialist, and lover of chocolate.