The next chapter in the ongoing saga of micro, nano and teeny-weeny flash fiction recently written but not long enough to get their own spotlight post.
Shine now, my pretties!
Urgent Bedtime Nursery Rhyme Update
Brand new flash!
There is no sugar-coating this message. The target market see nursery rhymes for what they are: outdated, meaningless nonsense. As times change, so too must these life lessons disguised as candy. Begin bedtime transmission… Diminutive non-binary Jacq Horner Sat in an inclusive space Eating an acacia bowl Jacq stuck in their thumb And pulled out a goji berry And received a participation certificate! Baa, baa, colour-absent follower, Have you any biotech? Yes non-gendered inquisitor, yes non-gendered inquisitor, three branches full. One for the government, And one for private investors, And one for the cry-baby liberal Who lives under the overpass. Non-judgemental dreams!
Recent Fifties by the Fire participations:
The Barrier
The monolithic barrier silently mocks us.
Another neighbour shouts from their side, confirming this impenetrable enigma is endless.
We wave our mutilated hands - permanent reminders not to touch the wall when the light flashes past.
As dusk falls, townsfolk gather for tonight’s mesmerising phantasmagoria: the anomaly‘s only redeeming feature.
On The Left (Fiction)
Your finger traced the letters of the glittering new plaque on your favourite bench. It simply read ‘In Loving Memory of You and I’.
“An epitaph we can all relate to,” you said.
With a deep sigh, you brushed away the leaves and took your regular place on the left.
What Goes Around
SLAP!
You philandering bastard! How could you do this to me?
She meant nothing, I swear!
You promised to be faithful!
Come on! She's just a bit of fluff!
SILENCE
That's how I got my nickname. We laughed about how you described me to your wife.
Oh yeah. Sorry fluffy.
and … a second for the same prompt (as the first submission was written before I knew what the prompt was, but I liked it so submitted it anyway).
Come closer, I’m listening
You’re missssssing out. I couldn’t. I promised. It’ssssssss sssssssublime. Sssssssubmit to pleasssssssure. A moments pleasure for an eternity of pain? Issssss that what he sssssssaid? More or less. If he cared sssssso much, why would he punisssssssh you? You make a good argument. Ssssssstop overthinking it. Ssssssssink your teeth in.
Setting A Good Example
Even though the native plants were poisonous, she tended to them. “It’s their home,” she’d say.
When venomous snakes sought refuge from the toxic chemicals dumped by the tax-dodging mega-corporation across the lake, she advocated for their protection. “We have to coexist peacefully,” she said.
As police searched for the missing CEO of the aforementioned chemical company, she fertilised her garden with fresh blood and bone. “Sourced locally and ethically,” she said to the sergeant.
She understood what was truly dangerous and always knew how to take care of things.
It was in her nature.
Submission in Globe Soup’s September 2023 Micro Fiction Competition
Letter from the frontlines
A three tweet challenge
Hey bro. Am I doing this right? Should I time stamp this? My fingers hurt from holding this pen and I've pushed it through the paper so many times it looks like your face after the zit outbreak of ‘14 Can I write on both sides? So how are you? I’ve been so bored since the pulse There’s hardly any 2nd hand vinyl left at Rockaway anymore. No streaming = everyone spinning. At first it was really annoying to turn the record over, but I get it now. Each side is a story. Cool. I’m talking with the guy who owns the place a LOT. Who knew he’d be so interesting? Is this what gran meant when she talked about letters from the frontline? I'd ask her, but don't have her address. Lucky we've still got TV hey? I'd go crazy without something to watch. Speaking of, my smart watch is useless now. It only tells the time.
#MythicPicnicTweetStory
The Rescue
Don’t panic! Emergency services are on the way! - Sorry, what? You’re probably in shock. Are you staying hydrated? - Pardon? Who’s this? Rescue team. We’re glad to have found you alive. - Um, I’m just playing Candy Crush on the loo. I know Jeremy! GET OUT! I’m busting!
#vss365 using #rescue prompt
Coolgardie 2am
Dead tired. Sleep clogging my eyes. The speed’s wearing off. Need more. Headlights claw at the bitumen ahead, seeking the end of this road to nowhere. Not even a roo or a tumbleweed to break the monotony. Need to fix the radio. Can’t keep driving in silence like this. It’ll kill me. Or send me mad. Hold on. That wasn’t a signpost. Blinking. Thinking. Don’t over think it. Don’t look in the rear view. No point. It’s pitch black. Gotta stop the rig. Park in the middle of the road. It’s fine. No one for miles. “Hello?” Damn, it’s a person. Out here? “You right, mate?” “Can I get a lift?” “Sure. Where ya off to?” “Bunbury” “I’ll get you to Perth, you can go from there.” “Perfect” Good for me too. Don’t need the tablets now. Unless this is a dream. Bloody hell, I need to wake up.
Originally published in Dip Your Toes on Medium.
Grotta's Lament
It’s a lifetime since your pipe's acrid smoke wafted up to fog the lantern room. The adjacent cottage continues to lay dormant since your passing.
I harbour no ill will at losing you, we both knew it would happen. Curiously, I mourn our friendship.
I thought I'd never see another living soul after being decommissioned, but extinguishing my light gave me unexpected new life.
In fact there’s another photographer braving the cold tonight, finding the best angle to juxtapose my imposing figure against our beloved Aurora borealis. Soon she'll be gone, leaving me in solitude, watching over the tempestuous sea.
100 word (exactly) Flash Fiction using the prompt “lighthouse”.
ABOUT FIFTIES BY THE FIRE
Now this challenge grabbed me the instant I stumbled upon it. A fifty word story (title not included) based on a prompt. “Insane!” I thought. “Not possible!” I thought. So I read past entries. “Magic!” I thought. Not only a fun challenge to write for, but a smorgasbord of other verbal smackerals to consume, and as a nice finishing touch, a lovely community being nurtured by the hostJustin Deming on his SubStack,Along the Hudson.
ABOUT TWITTER #VSS365
Before the brutal murder of Twitter by a power-hungry right-wing extremist snowflake, there once was a thriving writing community. One fun activity many participated in was #vss365, where very short stories were told based on a daily prompt within the constraints of the 271 characters limit. (Well spotted. It isn’t the full tweet limit of 280 characters, as you lose 9 to the hashtags and vss365 identifier). The game continues, but Twitter’s new rules make it less difficult (from an initial character limit of 140 when it began, then to 280, it’s now a monstrous 4,000!).
And no, I will never call it anything other than Twitter. Birds tweet. Exes just bitch and moan.