Week 625 of #ThursThreads was a success, and y’all never disappoint. Thank you to everyone who writes each week. You are why we’re still doing this, and why we’ve made it almost 13 YEARS!
If you’ve just found us, welcome to the crew! May you come back again and write more great flash. A thousand thanks to Louisa Bacio for judging this week. Follow Siobhan Muir on Bluesky or check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Group on MeWe to keep up with news, etc.
Entries:
- Bill Engleson
- Silver James
- Sheilagh Lee
- Siobhan Muir
- David A. Ludwig
- K.R. Van Horn
- Eric Martell
Louisa says: Thank you to all who shared their creativity and to our steadfast host, Siobhan.
Honorable Mention
Silver James | Website
Louisa says: James showcases her storytelling ability with this piece. There’s the alliteration of the “tenuous truce” and striking descriptions like “golden opalescence.” She pushes the boundaries of microfiction. I’m as intrigued as Nikos to discover who this mystery woman from behind the Veil is.
An absolute fitting tribute to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on the Spring Equinox. (Hint, if you don’t know the reference to Oberon and Titania.)
winner announcement
Week 652 Winner
Louisa says: The completeness of Van Horn’s piece enticed. The slow unraveling of his life holds the reader engaged. All those hallmarks of existence—vanished. Of note, the character fittingly has no name. It’s only a pronoun.
Sometimes it’s good to go against expectations. I expected for his name to disappear off the envelope at the end. Instead, his memory lingers.
𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙
The envelope had no return address. Either it was a bill or a cult. He opened it anyway.
Inside was a single sheet of paper, printed in bold, no-nonsense Bureaucrat Sans:
𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫.
He checked the back. Nothing. No signature, no instructions. Not even a friendly Best Wishes. Just a blank void, like a missed opportunity.
He tossed it on the counter and forgot about it. Later that night, when he tried logging into his bank account, he got an error: User does not exist.
Then, at the clinic the next morning. He signed in on the clipboard. Ten minutes later: No record found.
By noon, he wasn’t in his company directory. By three, his childhood yearbooks had mysteriously misplaced his name. Even the “Love you always” from his high school girlfriend had vanished, like she knew all along he wouldn’t make it.
He called his mother. “Mom, what’s my birthday?”
“Honey,” his mother said, gentle but confused, “I think you have the wrong number.”
He sat down. The letter was still on the counter, waiting.
He told himself he intended to find out who’d sent it.
Or maybe it didn’t matter. Maybe some celestial supermarket employee was just checking the shelves, tossing out the milk past its date.
Maybe he was already sour.
He glanced at the kitchen window. A faint outline of a man stared back. He lifted a hand. The reflection followed, lagging. Just a beat too late.
~~~~~~~
Congratulations Five Time Winner K.R., and Honorable Mention Silver! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it!
Pass on the great news on Facebook, MeWe, Bluesky, Mastodon, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! 🙂
Wow , I love this story K. R. Van Horn