Week 454 of #ThursThreads had many fantastic tales. I’m honored to see all the writers come to tie a tale as we head toward the end of our ninth year. If you’ve been doing it a while, thank you for sticking with us. If you’ve just found us, welcome! May you come back again and write more great flash. Thousand thanks to Eric Martell for judging this week. Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Group on MeWe to keep up with news, etc.
Entries:
- Richard Gibney | @ragtaggiggagon
- Bill Engleson | @billmelaterplea
- Siobhan Muir | @SiobhanMuir
- Nellie Batz | @solimond
- Eric Martell | @drmag00
- Charlene Mertz | @rrats1231
- Silver James | @SilverJames_
- David A. Ludwig | @DavidALudwig
- Teresa Eccles| @TeresaMEccles
- Louisa Bacio | @Louisabacio
- M.T. Decker | @mishmhem
Honorable Mentions
Charlene Mertz | @rrats1231
Eric says: Hospital time is slow time (and when it’s not, that’s usually not a good thing). This had a nice nightmarish quality of being stuck in a never-ending time loop.
M.T. Decker | @mishmhem
Eric says: A feeling I know all-too-well, a tale full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. You could feel her frustration, and more than that, her acceptance that the days might all spiral away.for a tale!
winner announcement
Week 454 Winner
Richard Gibney | @ragtaggiggagon
Eric says: I loved the writing style and dialogue… it’s morbid and deep. The last line artfully closes the tales up, twisting the story and its meaning just a bit more, perfectly so.
The sounds of splashing came from his en suite, rousing him. Climbing out of bed in the early dawn light, he stood in front of the door, frowning. Water seeped into his bedroom, over the threshold and under the door. It slid a few inches across the floor and touched the tips of his bare toes.
“What the…?” He took a step back.
He stood alone in front of the closed bathroom door, staring at the corona of light running along its frame. Someone was in there, in his bathroom, using his bath, and flooding the place. He heard humming. He should have been alone. He hadn’t had a visitor to the house in over two weeks – and that had been the social worker, checking him to ensure he wasn’t self-harming.
The humming got louder, and then a baritone voice burst into song.
“Shut up and take your medicine,” boomed the voice. It was a lyric the man had never heard before, more of a sing-song admonition than a piece of music.
He opened the door and pushed it inwards. The bath was running – overflowing, in fact – so he ran to it and turned off both faucets and pulled out the stopper.
The bathroom was empty.
He collapsed onto the toilet and looked around in dismay at the thick film of water all over the floor, anxious and uncertain. Had he taken his pills the previous evening?
“That’s what I’m saying,” the voice said. “You haven’t.”
~~~~~~~
Congratulations Winner Richard, and Honorable Mentions Charlene and M.T.! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it!
Pass on the great news on Twitter, Facebook, MeWe, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! 🙂
