The Microfiction Project: Chapter One

PRUDENCE

Prudence Merriweather always ate her breakfasts alone, in dress and gloves, at a small, round table in the middle of a small, clean kitchen with one window and two doors that led to nowhere. When it suited her, she ate in the company of a book, or a sunny tulip, or a clock that sang sad, sweet songs. These meals were never interrupted by any person, save for the odd visit from Phillip, her quiet old superintendent, holding a package or a letter from her brother, who lived in Prague. And this was good. She liked being alone. She liked her teacup, and her chair, and dressing in silk and velvet and fur while her neighbors might be wearing slippers, sleepily picking out gray pairs of pants and unmemorable ties. She liked the look of white sugar in a bowl, a lovely pastry on a plate, or the quiet luxury of choosing jam or butter or both. She felt as though she might not survive the remaining day without this solitary ritual, the angry honking of taxicabs and rough jabs of preoccupied passerby being much too much to stand otherwise. And so, she kept the gown, the tea, and the fine china a secret, changing into her own slightly less frivolous plainclothes before heading off to work or shops or walks or meetings. She never had overnight guests. On trips away she’d rise quietly, slip a fabulous pair of earrings or a pair of velvet gloves into her pocket, and sneak off to the loneliest park bench she could find. She very seldom took trips anyway. 

Years passed and it never occurred to her to invite another being to these breakfasts, the risk of ruining sacred ritual too great. And so she continued, pleasantly, until one day, the bell rang, and a package had come, but Phillip had not come with it. 

The Microfiction Project is a multi-part series of filmed short stories by Kristin Yancy.

CHAPTER ONE:

Filmed and Edited by Chelsea Robin Lee and Kristin Yancy
Performed by: Emily Palmquist, Ricardo A Zayas
With Original Score by The Hogstad Brothers
Special Thanks To: Nina Yancy, Claire Metoyer, Kimo Kepano, and Eric Chaves
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