Tag: #250wordstory

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 #unicornchallenge, Challenges, Flash Fiction

Stairway to Heaven – #unicornchallenge June 14, 2024

Posted on by R.M. Carlson
@Ayr/Gray

Once upon a time, there were two children who lived in the country. The girl, Mary, was 12 and the boy, Eddie, was 10. They were neighbors and became the best of childhood friends.

Mary and Eddie lived in the forest with their families. One day, their adventures led them to some steps that went up from the forest into a small clearing with the forest on either side.

Every day, they would sneak up the stairs to the clearing and play one of their imaginary games. They usually played a game they called Explorer. They would pretend to camp at the clearing and explore the forest.

One day, they discovered the remains of a campfire. They ran off into the woods to see if they could find the campers. The children stumbled across two hunters who warned them that it was hunting season and they should stay out of the woods.

They were disappointed but there were always other games to play.

Many years later, Eddie was ill. He sat in his recliner at his home and his wife tried to get him to go to the hospital. Instead of answering her, he fell into sleep or perhaps a meditative state.

He told her this story, but in bits and starts. She thought he was hallucinating and called the paramedics. Before they arrived, Eddie finished the story, fell into sleep, and then he was gone. He left with the memory of his Glory Days on his mind.

Thanks to Ayr/Gray for hosting the #unicornchallenge.

Posted in #unicornchallenge, Challenges, Flash Fiction

Two Faces – #unicornchallenge – May 24, 2024

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

She sat on a bench across the street from the museum, studying the sculpture in front.  It was a man, seemingly sculpted from wood, reading. He reminded her of a book she once read, “A Man of Two Faces.”

If you looked closely at the man, you could see his skeletal-like face. Above it, between his forehead and the crown of his head, another face appeared to her. You could distinguish two eyes and a nose that would be looking skyward if the sculpture could have looked up. He captured her imagination particularly given the times she was living in.

The outward looking face of the man was bowed, reading a book. The book he was reading, she imagined, was a book on American culture in these unsettled current times. There were bitter political rivalries, hundreds of conspiracy theories, religious involvement, misinformation and disinformation. Neighbors turned against neighbors and family against family. Long-time friendships were forever destroyed. The American dream to her seemed to be gone and she had no understanding of half the American population and its thinking.

She looked at the other face of the sculpture. That face wasn’t as clear, the expression was more off-kilter, perhaps confused, and a little dreamy. Maybe that face was dreaming of what could be, but wasn’t, in America. The American Dream, but this time an inclusive American Dream that was available to everyone. Was it now lost forever? Destroyed by greed and the lust for power? The sculpture had no answers.

Thanks to Ayr/Gray for hosting the #unicornchallengeT.