As the sun rose from the mountains, their thousand year old roots moved. The sun peered through their wrinkle-stringed trunks and bark infested with anguish. They rose and broke from their aged cage welcoming a new life. Mournful fated years had advanced since they last heard that soft floating witchery sound. They remembered like it […]
Tag: 2021-Flash-01
Cliche
AKIRA TAYFor the record: breathing is overrated. The brain can go six whole minutes without any, and I was at a solid three airless minutes when mom finally said; “Okay, bǎobǎo, you can go, but remember your curfew, okay?” I enthusiastically nodded, as if this whole time my neck and jaw were held together by […]
Morning Mood
Afterwards, he considered it a blessing that the barking dogs woke him up, although it was well before dawn. If it hadn’t happened, he wouldn’t have experienced the bliss that now filled him. A dream had taken him back to early childhood, where feelings of joy, trust and total oneness had been hiding. His normal […]
Red Sky in the Morning
Red sky in the morning… I cannot finish the old saying. Not today. Not today. I’m on the verandah sipping my coffee. The sun’s first rays are creeping over the horizon and the scattered clouds are colouring redder and redder. Not the soft pink or orange glow of most mornings; this sky is angry, a […]
Rock of Ages
I sit beside your bed through the long, long night and I pray for the first time in years. ‘It won’t be long…’ said the kindly doctor, squeezing my shoulder gently before he left the room and yet I re-visit our whole lifetime between sunset and dawn. I recall my resentment as I sat beside […]
Early Morning Migraine
Anna woke to the bell screaming — time to go! She shut her eyes just a little bit longer and covered her ears, hoping the moment wasn’t now, wasn’t so soon. Reality caught up with her desperate mind. She began this routine, this dance, not with a delicate footstep, but with a violent spring on […]
Fresh Snow
Snow glistened as it slowly melted in the golden rays of the morning sun. White-capped rooftops sparkled in the rising light, and songbirds perched on weathervanes sang their melodies. Winter’s icy breath finally felt warmer than it had in the months past. The town was still asleep, and only the sounds of nature echoed throughout […]
A Pedestrian Deity
Drifting. A desolate island of deserts and light. And you journey across in the desperate hope of finding the answers to this and to that. It pains you. But nevertheless, it develops discretely, this dramatic backdrop. You draw a line in the sand. Often enough it means something, other times, it’s just symbolic. Your desire […]
The Next Chapter
The old man wheeled his wheelchair out onto the front porch. His face was decorated by wrinkles, which hinted at a lifetime of emotions. This man was one who had lived a plethora of ups and downs; he’s crawled out from many valleys and reached the pikes of many mountains. He’s fallen in love and […]
The Runaway
Stacey was excited for the first time in a long time. It had been years since she felt like this. All the responsibilities and stresses weighing her down would soon melt away. The lazy husband she could no longer stand would be gone. The children she had never wanted, but had been pressured into having, […]
After the Apocalypse
Evelyn shed her hazmat suit and stepped from the rover’s isolation chamber. She immediately noticed the faraway look on Oliver’s face. “Something wrong?” she asked. He shook his head before checking their robotic decontamination vessel’s control panel. “It’s nothing. Dawn was three minutes ago. Makes me feel nostalgic.” “Now there’s an alien concept in our […]
Hajimemashite Sekai
I blinked but it stung. My eyes felt red. It almost hurt to look. One more, just one more episode. Yet another film. One last game. How long has it been I wonder. A week? Two weeks, maybe three? How long since I’ve been outside? I think about it, almost everyday. I think about outside […]