Welcome back to the home of #ThursThreads for Week 625. Year 12! What a fantastic testament to the writing community. Y’all rock!
Today is Thursday and that means it’s time to start flashing on #ThursThreads, the challenge that ties tales together. Want to keep up each week? Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook and the Group on MeWe.
Need the rules? Read on.
Here’s how it works:
- The prompt is a line from the previous week’s winning tale.
- The prompt can appear ANYWHERE in your story and is included in your word count.
- The prompt must be used as is. It can be split, but no intervening words can be inserted or tenses changed.
Rules to the Game:
- This is a Flash Fiction challenge, which means your story must be a minimum of 100 words, maximum of 250.
- The story must be new writing, not a snippet from something published elsewhere with the prompt added.
- Incorporate the prompt anywhere into your story (included in your word count).
- Post your story in the comments section of this post
- Include your word count in the post (or be excluded from judging)
- Include your social media handle or email in the post (so we easily notify you)
- The challenge is open 7 AM to 8 PM Mountain Time US.
- The winner will be announced on Friday, depending on how early the judge gets up.
How it benefits you:
- You get a nifty cool badge to display on your blog or site (because we’re all about promotion – you know you are!)
- You get instant recognition of your writing prowess on this blog!
- Your writing colleagues shall announce and proclaim your greatness on Facebook, Bluesky, MeWe, and Mastodon, etc.
Our Judge for Week 625:
Jolly cynic and Transcendentalist groupie, K.R. Van Horn.
Bluesky |
And now your #ThursThreads Challenge, tying tales together.
The Prompt:
“To the left.”
All stories written herein are the property (both intellectual and physical) of the authors. Comments do not represent the views of the host and the host reserves the right to remove any content. Now, away with you, Flash Fiction Fanatics, and show us your #ThursThreads. Good luck!
Heyday
“Jump! JUMP you fool….”
“I’ll break my bloody neck.”
“I’ll break your fool neck if you don’t. This is where we get off…”
“Okay…here goes….”
“Right behind you laddie….”
“Really Gramps? That really happened…you and your friend jumped right off a moving train?”
“Three times, actually. Got better at it.”
“And you never paid for the ride?”
“That was the point. Nobody had any money. Well, the rich, they always had money. Even if they lost it, they always got more. Wealth creates wealth. But no, millions of us didn’t have any…little we had was gone in a puff of smoke…”
“Not like today, huh?”
“Not a lot has changed, Sonny Jim. Remember that when I’m gone. Wealth creates wealth. Poverty spreads like wildfire. Things gotta change. Be a person who makes that happen…”
“That was along time ago, Jimmy. I’m glad you wrote it, but the worlds changed. “
“Yeah, maybe? Gramps got lucky. The last train he jumped off landed him in a small BC. town. Met Grandmother. Went to war. Lived. Came back. Lumber mill there got a boost from the war. Three children. My mom and dad moved to the Island after Gramps passed. I’ve had a good life but exactly how I’ve ever improved the world…I dunno. “
“He probably meant, be a good person. You are.”
Maybe not good enough. Whole world’s veering to the right. I wanna help move it to the left.”
“Then let me help you.”
“Always thought you would.”
250 words
@billmelaterplea
“Yes, all right.” I nodded to the orchard. “Check the trees to the left. They are on the an-polar side and get the most daystar light. I will start here and grasp the lower fruits.”
I handed him a sack, startled by his delighted expression. His people opened their lips and the edges of their mouths curled up at the corners. My people didn’t do that—baring our teeth was a threat expression—but the language of his body suggested satisfaction.
“Do you want me to start low on these trees?” Ryshtar gestured to the ones I’d indicated. “Or just work on the top levels?”
I tilted my head, considering. “Just the top levels. I’ll get the fruit below. Leave anything that’s already been pecked or eaten. It will go to feed the local fauna and spread seeds.”
I immediately turned to work on the trees to the right without another word, uncomfortable with the feelings of gratitude swarming my awareness. I didn’t want to appreciate the help. If I did, I’d miss it when Ryshtar returned to his people and left me alone again.
Despite my morbid thoughts, we filled up three-times as many sacks with ripe fruit than I usually did, and Ryshtar helped me finish the lower portions of the trees. We worked in companionable silence, something I hadn’t realized existed after being alone. But neither of us seemed interested in filling the quiet with words beyond body language and gestures.
244 ineligible #WIP words
@siobhanmuir.bsky.social