Flash Fiction # 27 - The Great Castle Ruin of Schmidt
- Jacob RD Johnson
- Dec 6, 2025
- 2 min read
Picture Prompt:
300-word Flash Fiction
Post # 27
Week Ending: 12/12/2025
Genre: Fiction
Title: The Great Castle Ruin of Schmidt
Devon Smith had always felt a draw to go on a hike to see the Great Castle Ruin of Schmidt. When he laid eyes upon it at the age of five in a magazine, he felt an immediate kinship with it and no idea why.
Now, twenty years later, he'd finally check it off his bucket list. The hike took three hours to get to the ruin itself. Leaving the trail to go near the castle wasn't allowed. But Devon hadn't waited this long just to view from afar.
Looking around, he was alone. He climbed down a cliff to the grounds and reached out to touch the stone wall.
Upon contact with the rough surface, he found himself watching as a fierce battle ensued. A band of armor-clad men surrounded the castle, which was no longer a ruin, but a stout fortress.
Arrows flying everywhere. One flew straight through Devon as though he wasn't even there. Because he wasn't. Not as Devon anyway. He looked up to the top of the castle wall to see a man defending his home along with his loyal trusty guards.
The man was Dirske Schmidt, the castle owner. Devon didn't know how, but he knew he had a connection with this man.
The inhabitants of the castle were taking the upper hand when a catapult from below hurled a ball up to where the castle defenders stood. An explosion blasted them and the structure.
Dirske fell down from his perch and when he impacted the ground, it took his life. Simultaneously, Devon felt a jolt which flashed him back to present day. He lay on his back near the ruin wall and realized… Dirske had been him. Somehow the castle had taken him back to view his own demise in a previous life.
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