Possible blog feature: short stories

One thing I do to flex my creative brain is write short stories. They are sitting in my file rotting away, which is a waste. I've decided I'll start sharing some short stories and writing exercises, such as "hooks" - the first sentences for a fiction story.

I'll explain the hook exercise another time. In the meantime, here's an intro to a short story I wrote a few years ago. I have no idea where I originally intended to go with this story, it's unfinished.

Nightmares (working title)

High above a deep blue bay, a woman stands on a cliff. She leaps out, soaring in the air. More graceful than a sea gull, faster than a hawk, with more flair than a dolphin. Majestic! Then as she begins her descent, reality sets in, and she lets out a horrified squawk that echoes off the cliff walls. Instinct instructs her to curl up in a ball, and she hits the water at terrifying 62 miles per hour. Gravity wins.

"Dana? Dana? Are you awake?”

“What happened?” Dana mumbled into her pillow.

“You screamed.”

“I died.”

“Again?”