Week 723 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 George Varhalmi 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
- Alex Minns
- Nellie Batz
- Silver James
- David A. Ludwig
- Joe Hesch
- Siobhan Muir
Honorable Mention
Nellie Batz | Website
George says: I love the humor and snark of the situation. It does make me wonder what the cost of the deal will be when you have a pierced corpse that has to look natural. But I guess that apple bourbon will lead to an interesting next step in the evening. This was a funny tale and thank you for sharing it this week.
winner announcement
Week 723 Winner
George says: The twist at the end was so natural in its simplicity. I loved it. That made it stand out as the best to me. The tale was so fun and smooth that I did not anticipate the twist until it happened. This was a well done and memorable tale with quiet subtlety. Thank you for sharing this tale on this week’s challenge.
“We can make it look natural.” That’s what he said. Like I was ordering a kid’s birthday cake.
“Do you have a specific date and time for…delivery?” He said, as if he needed to know if I wanted sprinkles or some going-away sentiment written in butter cream on top.
I was distracted by a red-haired Asian girl who’d bopped into the coffee shop, which I thought incongruous, but no more than the fact he’d picked this place to discuss our “transaction.”
“Sir? I’m sorry, but I have another appointment this morning. I usually like to have this part wrapped up before my chai latte gets cold. You understand.”
The red-haired girl walked past the booth where we sat. He, with his back to the wall, with a view of the whole shop. I faced the door. She smiled as she went past us toward the counter. She smelled of citrus and winter.
“Oh, sorry. Doesn’t matter. No one’ll care. Only child, both parents dead, new in town. Cancer, ya know? We’ll be doing her a favor,” I said, wondering if it was twenty ago what’d happen if I paid for the red-haired girl’s order.
“Yes, sir. We’ll get right on it. And now…” He swooped up the envelope and headed for the door.
As she walked toward the tallboys by the window, the girl dropped her napkin next to my booth. I reached for it just as she did. Never did feel the needle.
It was all quite natural.
~~~~~~~
Congratulations Thirteen Time Winner Joe, and Honorable Mention Nellie! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it!
Pass on the great news on Facebook, Discord, Bluesky, Mastodon, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! 🙂
