Category: Flash Fiction

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

Gone in a Flash

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#unicornchallenge – October 18, 2024

Photo Prompt @Ayr/Gray

She knew they shouldn’t be here, but Jim was insistent that they visit this club that had great rock and roll music, It was on the South side of Chicago in the U.S. It was a rough part of the city.

She gave in after he assured her it would be safe. It was a thrilling taxi ride from their place to the street where the club was located. The streets were teeming with people. All ethnicities, She didn’t see anything worrisome. Just a lot of very diverse people having a good time.

The taxi pulled up in front of the club. They found a table very near the stage. It seemed like the music included all of her favorite songs.

It was closing time and they started to leave. They got to the door and she felt a tug on her arm. She turned and the world went dark. She heard lots of fighting and screaming around her. She realized she had on a hood. She kept calling for Jim having no way to know he had been knocked out and put in a nearby van.

She was pushed into a taxi and yanked off the hood. Another passenger was sitting there.

After they started to move, he looked at her and said, “Sorry about your luck with your date. He was the one with the money.”

There was no answer when she called Jim’s cell. The police had no luck. Jim was gone in a flash.

Thanks to C.E. Aye and Jenne Gray for hosting the #unicornchallenge!

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

Destiny

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#FridayFictioneers – October 17, 2024

Photo Prompt @ Lori Wilson

It had been a wonderful trip. She had finally arrived in her favorite city. The last stop. She was looking forward to seeing a special person. They were to meet in a bar there.

She left dinner early and started to walk toward the bar where they had always met. That was so long ago.

She stepped to the door. When she saw him, her nervousness drained away and she started to smile. It had been 20 years. So much had happened. He turned and saw her while raising his martini glass to his lips. He stopped halfway.

Thanks to Rochelle for continuing to host #FridayFictioneers.

Posted in #unicornchallenge, Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Uncategorized

A Trip Back in Time

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#unicornchallenge- October 10, 2024

Photo Prompt @Ayr/Gray

She stopped for a moment to catch her breath. Her evening constitutional had been challenging today. It was wet and foggy. She wasn’t sure how far she had come.

The old woman gazed up the hill that bordered her walking path. Two children, wrapped up warmly, were playing on the side of the hill. It reminded her of when she and her siblings had played on the same hill.

Her mind wandered and she was suddenly one of those children and her brothers and sisters were with her once again. They were all running down the hill and ending up in somersaults at the bottom. She laughed as she saw herself come in fourth out of fifth.

Clyde came in first as always and poor little Allis was last. They all ran back up the hill, falling and tumbling as they went. Next, she saw herself in a game of hide and seek. They hid behind the scrub or whatever they could find.

Finally, they tired and flopped down on the side of the hill to rest. She and Bonnie, her older sister, talked of how dusk was coming and their mother would be calling for them soon. She could clearly hear Bonnie’s voice.

The old lady felt a gentle touch to her elbow and looked around. It was her caregiver and she had come to find her. The relief was obvious on the caregiver’s face.

They smiled at each other and she said, “Mother, I’m hungry.”

Thanks to C.E. Ayer and Jenne Gray for hosting the #unicornchallenge!

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

Milk Cow Blues

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#unicorn challenge – October 4, 2024

Photo Prompt @ Ayr/Gray

She got out of bed and trudged through the living room. The place had been trashed. She supposed it happened last night. She was having a hard time remembering. She was so glad their daughter had been at a sleepover.

As she made her way through the house, it dawned on her that he was gone. His bed hadn’t been slept in. She opened the closet and his clothes were gone. A shelf in the bookcase was cleared out.

It was Monday, she remembered. The milk man delivered milk on Monday. She smiled and thought that they wouldn’t need half the milk they used in the past.

She felt embarrassed. It was 1975. The divorce rate in the U.S. was low. Divorce was still a social stigma. Most couples just stuck it out, supposedly for the sake of the children. Her own opinion was that couples married too young and didn’t wait to find the right person. That surely described her.

He’d asked her for a divorce last night. She agreed, but he raged and blamed her. She laughed when she thought of the milk on the porch and the old song, “Milk Cow Blues,” popped into her mind. She remembered part of the lyrics and it seemed she was living that song. She would not need as much milk delivered in the future. She walked to the door to bring in the milk and try to get back to her life.

NOTE: “Milk Cow Blues” was written back in the 1930s, but my favorite version is by Aerosmith

Thanks to C.E. Ayr and Jenne Gray for hosting the #unicornchallenge!

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

Conspiracy

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#unicornchallenge – September 24, 2024

Photo Prompt @ Ayr/Gray

He heard the growl of the plane and saw the contrails it left visible in the sky. He was in the parking lot of this development and everyone around him was pointing skyward. What was so special about contrails left by a high-flying aircraft?

The people started running toward the buildings, taking cover. He walked into one of the shops where others were gathered. There was a woman there and he asked her what the excitement was about.

“Why don’t you know about them chem-trails,” she asked.

“Chem-trails.” He pondered the term. “Ma’am, those are just vapor trails left by high-flying aircraft.”

“On no,” she said. “Don’t you know about that government program that uses those planes and those helicopters to drop harmful material into the air?”

Puzzled, he asked, “What material?”

“Heavy metals, plastics, and other stuff.”

The lady smiled and said, “They are trying to block out the sun. Trying to cause us to get sick. The current U.S. administration is trying to mess with the weather.”

“Ma’am, I think you’re mistaken,” the man replied.

“Oh no,” she said. “Ask anyone.”

After the man got home, he researched “chem-trails.” He found that it is a popular conspiracy theory and recently has been attributed to the current U.S. government by its opposition.

He shook his head, astounded. He thought to himself that the people who believe this will be a part of the voting population. What is going to happen to us?

Thanks to C.E. Ayr and Jenne Gray for hosting the #unicornchallenge.

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

Danger!

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#fridayfictioneers – September 20, 2024

Photo Prompt @ Lisa Fox

She and her mother found it when they were cleaning out the attic. Several boxes of what some call uranium glass. Antique glass with a glow in the dark glaze on it from decades ago.

She looked in her books about antique glassware and discovered that it is a much sought-after collectible.

As they got it ready for sale, they noticed the glow in the dark coating was flaking off. Antique collectors bought it anyway.

Later, she found out that the flaking was radioactive. What about the people who bought their glass?

Thanks to Rochelle for continuing to host #FridayFictioneers!

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

You Are Loved

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

TRIGGER WARNING

#unicornchallenge – September 13, 2024

@Ayr/Gray

The first time she woke up, she was in his parent’s living room. Only partially conscious, she heard his parents tell him to take her home and face the consequences.

The next time she was conscious, she was in her dad’s arms and he was picking her up from the driveway, bloody and broken.

She didn’t remember much of the week that followed. Just the painful injuries and a constant heartache. She started to recover, but even after months passed, she was not the same. Not even after years.

A lifetime passed. The girl went on to be successful professionally and personally. Something was never right. She went to the family cemetery, drawn to it as if she were being pulled. She sat down by her grandparent’s graves to figure out what was plaguing her.

Suddenly, she heard her grandfather’s voice, as clearly as if he were standing there.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he said. “He was an abuser and showed his true colors that night. You almost didn’t survive it.”

In her thoughts, the girl replied, “I must have done something terrible. I must have been an awful person or he wouldn’t have done it. I’ve worked so hard since but never felt good enough.”

She heard her grandfather say, “My precious granddaughter, you’ve been successful in all you’ve ever done. You’ve just not been able to let that one night and a crazy man go. Let it go now and remember how much you are loved.”

Thanks to C.E. Ayer and Jenne Gray for hosting the #unicornchallenge!

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

Take Me Home Tonight

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#fridayfictioneers – September 6, 2024

Photo Prompt @Dale Rogerson

The old tavern didn’t look like much. It was a popular gathering place for music and meeting people back in 1986.

The young man, barely of age, stumbled in the door. He was blind with despair.

He spotted a girl dancing alone on the dance floor. He watched her as he drank a beer. This place and that girl made him feel less lonely.

He joined her on the dance floor.

He whispered, “Take me home tonight. I don’t want to let you go until we see the light.”

She just smiled.

Thanks to Rochelle for continuing to host #fridayfictioneers!

*Based on the song, “Take Me Home Tonight,” by Eddie Money, 1986.

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

Bullied

Posted on by R.M. Carlson
Photo Prompt @ Mr. Binks

The girl was 11 years old. She was becoming an accomplished piano player.

She was terrified of playing in an upcoming recital. The girl was bullied at school. They called her “chicken” and teased her.

It was the day of the recital. She wanted to pull out of it, but she remembered all the cries of “chicken.” When her turn came, she gathered all her courage and played a Bach piece, the Prelude in C Minor.

When she finished, there was silence in the audience. Then wild cheering. She never heard the cries of “chicken” again.

Thank you to Rochelle for continuing to host #fridayfictioneers!

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

False Alarm

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#fridayfictioneers – August 2, 2024

Photo Prompt @ Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

When they decided to go their separate ways, she was devastated. She took a solo trip to the beach to try to reconcile herself to her new life without him.

Why were her friends and family freaking out about her trip before she went? She was trying to start healing.

She went for a swim. When her aunt came down to the beach, she was swimming underwater along the shore line.

Suddenly, there were police and an ambulance. They pulled her from the water.

Really? Over a failed relationship? They must not know her at all.

Thanks to Rochelle for continuing to host #FridayFictioneers!