Writers Victoria held its third flash fiction competition this year. For 30 days, they posted a single-word prompt on the theme ‘Unfold’, and entrants wrote up to 30 words in response.
Here are my final 10 stories.
April 21 Expand
They’d reached decision time. Commit or retreat? Expand their debt to save their business, or sell up and move to the bush?
April 22 Emerge
Old Man Cactus hides, grizzled and silent, in a forgotten corner of the garden. After the storm, he blossoms, and once again reigns as Queen of the Night.
April 23 Unfurl
Junk floated on the tide of her memories. The past nagged, promising pride and shame, until she unfurled to its demands, leaving the present to take care of itself.
April 24 Letter
Jake wrestled with his sister until he pinned her down.
Red with fury, she screamed, ‘Muuum!’
Tired of their sibling squabbles, Mum yelled from the other room, ‘Let her go!’
April 25 Unwrap
The year we lost Emily was the year we cancelled Christmas. No decorations, no gifts, no cheer. Now, unwrapping presents brings sharp reminders of the joys she’ll never share.
April 26 Display
Max slept on the floor, one ear cocked. Tom sweated and jerked, his nightmares on display. Instantly alert, Max jumped onto the bed. Tom stroked his fur and calmed.
April 27 Betray
Isabella, reigning Queen of Hide and Seek, was brought undone. Betrayed, not by a soft sigh, not by a furtive giggle, but by a rumbling delinquent fart.
April 28 Become
May spent her adult years cleaning up after her family. The day her children left home, she became a new woman. Now she lives in comfortable squalor and orders takeaway.
April 29 Discover
The room erupted with laughter at my blunder. Their roar of glee shredded my soul. And in one seamless lesson, I discovered the underbelly of humour.
April 30 Unfold
Moonlight shimmered on a gossamer thread … her final offering to the flash gods. Words spent, energy drained, silence would remain until April Fools, when the ritual would unfold again.
Next time: how it feels to be on The Other Side of the Table, an Interview by Louise Ross
Next writing blog: Short Fiction: The Hit
Next flash fiction: Writers Victoria Flash Fiction 2022 – Part One
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