We have some fantastic flash fiction lined up for October. Here’s a little taster to whet your appetite:
1 October 2021 – ‘Autumn Quartet’ by Pat Tompkins:
Standing ahead of me as I wait to buy a postcard are two women dressed for hiking. Not the full-bore serious official activewear head-to-toe type with broken-in boots, but at least hats, calf-length khaki-colored pants, long-sleeve blouses, sensible shoes. Short gray hair and weathered skin pegs them as maybe retirement age, which makes sense for a Tuesday in autumn.
8 October 2021 – ‘Balmedie’ by Claire Griffiths:
It’s the bones washing up on Balmedie Beach that sets the tongues to talking. ‘Fishing twine,’ they say. ‘Black bin bag, bound tight. Nothing accidental about that.’
15 October 2021 – ‘Dig, Dig, Dig’ by Bridger Cummings:
Walking behind one of the carts was Sarah. Her hands were still dirty from tending the garden before her. But that didn’t matter. Everything was dirty. There was never enough water for washing – they barely had enough for themselves and the few plants they managed to grow.
22 October 2021 – ‘We Appreciate Your Donations’ by Maya Perez:
The woman regains consciousness but the pain is so brilliant she blacks out again. Sometime later, she opens her eyes and this time is able to stay awake. She sits up slowly, her skull cracking. Puke rushes up her throat and she staggers to the toilet. How much did she drink last night? Was she drinking last night? Trying to remember hurts. Thinking hurts.
29 October 2021 – ‘Soulling’ by DJ Tyrer:
A board near the door was set with buns for visitors to take. Gerald stuffed several of the soul-cakes into his pockets. He couldn’t eat one on the way home; old hob, the horse’s skull hooded with a white sheet and mounted atop a long pole that was the emblem of the soulling crew, was too awkward and heavy to carry one-handed for long.
If you want to submit a flash for publication on our website, see our submissions page. We pay £10 for each piece published.
