Excellent 585 words Somebody's Fault by Spiritual Echo      Surprise Me Contest Winner

The sun streamed through the stained glass windows, drenching the pristine altar in a speckled mosaic of filtered colour. Soft music, chosen with care by Maggy, added a welcoming tone to the spartan chapel. She stood at the back of the room watching as her friends and family took their seats and prepared for the ceremony. It was a bitter-sweet moment, one filled with both longing and regrets. She was waiting for David's family, hoping they'd changed their minds and were willing to allow their anger and disappointment to be buried today. David was the baby, the third of three boys, and the family jewel, pampered and coddled. Perhaps it was because of the unadulterated adoration that he became a rebel, thinking he could get away with anything and be forgiven. Trenton was a small town, and Maggy had known David all her life. Though shy and cautious, David's charm and sparkling eyes filled with mischief always managed to cajole Maggy into becoming a willing accomplice in his pranks. Together, they'd kidnapped the baby Jesus from the nativity scene when they were ten years old. She'd written the ransom note--dictated by David-- that eventually led to their apprehension by the sheriff. Though charges weren't laid and the statue was returned to the pastor, the sheriff accomplished his purpose. Maggy was scared to tears, but David thought it was another adventure, and even managed to carve his initials into the cement wall in the cell while they waited for their parents. After that incident, Maggy tried to stay away from the brown-eyed, freckled boy, especially when it got all turned around and she was blamed for the whole idea. David's parents said Maggy was a bad influence on their precious son and warned him to stay away from her. For a boy like David, that became a crusade, a challenge to defy rules. She tried, she really made an effort to avoid the boy who grew into a juvenile delinquent in his teenage years. But he had a way of making her laugh, and it wasn't the last time they got in trouble together. By the time they were caught, once again by the same sheriff, half naked in the back of a car, her parents accepted that Maggy was drawn to David like a bee to honey. Not so David's parents, who blamed her again. She had no idea the car was stolen. Her daddy was adamant, and though Maggy knew that David might not be the best husband material, she couldn't resist the boy that made her laugh. They set a wedding date. Maggy saw the two of them as Bogey and Bacall. David was prone towards a vision of Bonnie and Clyde. Maggy thought he was taking night school courses, trying to get his GED while pumping gas for a living. David bought a gun and was spending two nights a week draining the profits from his competitors--at gun-point. The sheriff didn't know it was David when he fired. He knew both Maggy and David since childhood and was inconsolable when the ambulance arrived. "I didn't know," he kept muttering at the scene. The sheriff was in the chapel, but there was no reason to wait for David's family. They still blamed Maggy. They refused to attend the wedding. She took her seat in the front pew, nodding to the pastor to begin the funeral service for David, the husband who died before their first anniversary. Writing Prompt This is a flash fiction contest. Write a story that has a surprise ending. Since it is flash, the word count must be between 200 and 600 words. The ending can be funny, sad, shocking, etc. But the reader has to be surprised. Surprise Me Contest Winner Recognized

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