n. glim-mer
1. a faint or wavering light.
synonyms: sparkle, flash, glow, shimmer, glint, twinkle, ray, flicker
2. a faint sign of a feeling or quality, esp. a desirable one.
synonyms: trace, sign, suggestion, hint
"a glimmer of hope"
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Glimmer
She always overcame anything in her way. She had a habit of always getting what she wanted. She won. She did nothing else.
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Sparkle
"Momma," a little girl with big green eyes asked, with a voice so pure and happy, so beautiful, "What does glimmer mean?"
Momma didn't have the heart to tell her.
Glimmer found out anyway. (Daddy has a big library full of books and Glimmer has a lot of people she can talk to.)
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Flash
Her Daddy wanted her to volunteer. "You're ready," he says.
"You can win," he said.
He said.
And she responds appropriately, because she always knows how to respond appropriately. "Yes, Daddy."
He lied. (again. [to himself])
She could have said no. But she decided to humor the old man and be done. She was nothing special, she knew.
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Glow
"I volunteer." Her voice rang like bells (bells announcing her death, she knew) amidst the silence.
Daddy glowed.
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Shimmer
Her eyes shimmered with tears in the light.
Her gold dress shimmered.
She shimmered.
Hah. She was better, for once.
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Glint
No more dresses. No more dolls. No more play.
The sunlight shining off a dagger shone into her eyes, but she didn't care.
All she could see was the roselipsred blossom on her opponent's chest.
One person closer to winning.
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Twinkle
She spent her first night in the arena. Somehow, she managed to drop her guard for a while and steal a look at the sky.
The stars laughed at her.
She stumbled.
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Ray
She woke up to a terrible pain jabbing her in places that she didn't know could hurt.
The sun laughed at her. It laughed so loudly. Little girl, you think you can win? You think charm can work in a field were brutality reigns? You think you can win? You think you'll live?
She fell.
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Flicker
Her light bent to the will of the wind.
And it was snuffed out by the cruelty of life, by the cruelty of the world, by the cruelty of not winning this one time.
There was an obstacle. She failed to cross it.
She failed.
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n. "glimmer of hope"
1. Something she didn't have.