Week 709 of #ThursThreads was a success, a remarkable feat for 13 solid years. Thank you to everyone who writes each week. You are why we’re still doing this. I’m truly grateful for all y’all!
If you’ve just found us, welcome to the crew! May you come back again and write more great flash. A thousand thanks to Eric Martell for judging this week. Follow Siobhan Muir on Bluesky or check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction server on Discord or the #ThursThreads group on Facebook to keep up with news, etc.
Entries:
- Bill Engleson
- Gora Shade
- Siobhan Muir
- Joe Hesch
- Silver James
- David A. Ludwig
- Sheilagh Lee
- A.J. Walker
Eric says: Thank you to each of the writers who took time this week to tie their tale to the thread. Sometimes the words flow easily and the story arrives whole, sometimes it needs to be wrangled into form, sometimes we pry each word from the ether like a sad potato from rocky soil, and sometimes we just stare at the cursor, feeling that any words we write will be lifeless and not worth reading. But putting one word after another is one of the things that makes us human, and I thank you. The stories this week ranged from melancholy to sad, perhaps inevitable based on the prompt, but reading brings the joy, regardless.
Honorable Mention
Bill Engleson | Website
Eric says: This story had some lovely turns of phrase within its 250. “Swirls of trash and sorrow were stifling the air” and “Knows his way around gavels and grovelling” were the ones I’ll remember the longest.
winner announcement
Week 709 Winner
Eric says: How do we say goodbye when the strength has been sapped from our bodies? How do we say goodbye to those we love when we know what time has done to them? Sometimes we can. Sometimes we slip into the well-worn rituals that make up our lives. We try, we fail, we are human.
Carole punched in the numbers. Bud couldn’t. Cancer had taken so much from him months ago. He still managed to get out of bed with his walker and settle into the rental high-backed chair. Though mostly with Carole’s help.
“Thanks, hon,” he said, as he almost hoped to get Jay’s voicemail. But he knew he had to, so Jay knew.
No one but doctors and some family had seen Bud in months, though to see him wouldn’t be like seeing HIM. Not the Bud at one end of those long rainbows he once shared with a basketball, or 300 yards off the tee.
“Hey, Bud! How you doing? Long time no hear,” Jay said.
“Hi, Jay. You know, same old…”
“Oh yeah! When’re you back from Florida?”
“Got back a week ago.” It’d been three. “Just wanted to say hi.”
“Well, it’s great to hear your voice. You doing okay?”
“Eh, you know. Get to be our age.”
“Oh, for sure! Think we can get together for some lunch? Too early for golf.”
“That’d be great. Definitely before we head to The Cape.” Liar, he thought.
“Say, I was wondering…”
“Ooh. There’s Cody and the kids. Gotta go. See you soon, Jay. Honest.”
Bud’s chin dropped to his chest.
“Could he say goodbye?” Cody asked her mother.
“No.”
At the wake, through tears, Jay’s wife Michelle and Carole whispered to each other.
“He couldn’t do it,” Carole said.
“Neither could Jay. But please let Bud know he tried.”
~~~~~~~
Congratulations Eleven Time Winner Joe, and Honorable Mention Bill! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it!
Pass on the great news on Facebook, Discord, MeWe, Bluesky, Mastodon, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! 🙂
