We thought it would be fun, as we celebrate our first New Year's as admin here at The One-Minute Writer and are feeling reflective, to celebrate some of the great flash fiction written by readers this year. With that in mind, we each chose some of our favorite FFF entries. For various reasons they may not have won (Can I just say, more often than not, I would have loved to see a specific piece win but I had no way of contacting the author! Leave me an email address or website link if you write so well!) but each is a wonderful read.
Starting with Abbey's choices...
Here are a few highlights from FFF of 2016.These are submissions that didn't win, but are definitely worth mentioning!
Here is one from Karma Girl in response to the prompt "The Belt Buckle and the Necktie"
The pants were starting to fall around his knees. The starvation diet was finally working but this pantsless life was not going to win him any friends.
"I'll use my neck tie!" he exclaimed much to the annoyance of the other passengers on the train.
Here is what Hank Greer said in response to this prompt: "Before or After" in which the writer responded to the story by writing what led up to my story or what came next.
The mechanic didn't need to say anything. The look on his face was enough.
"Ma'am, your car is not drivable and it'll take a week to special order the parts. I'm sorry, but working on a Studebaker is pretty rare around here."
"But," she said. "Isn't there any way to fix it now? I'm on my way to an important meeting."
He shook his head. "I'm sorry."
"How could this happen now?" It was more a rhetorical question expressing her exasperation.
The mechanic thought he was being helpful. "I imagine the noise came on gradually and you just got used to it and didn't notice it. How long have you had this car?"
"Twenty-seven years."
"Well, it's a real beaut," he said. "It's a shame it broke down now. Where do you have to go? I can call you a taxi."
Her gloom deepened and she began to choke up. "For four hundred and seventy-nine miles?"
"I can give you a ride to get a rental."
"I don't want to leave my car and I need to go."
He thought for a moment. "Listen, why don't you go across the street and get a cup of coffee. Let me make some calls. Let me see if I can get the parts here faster, okay?"
The cold, blustery wind pushed a tear across her temple as she crossed the street. She wiped it away with a finger. Taking her seat, she pulled two carefully folded sheets of paper from her purse and spread them open, her still wet finger tip smudging the "TRUE" in the page's header, "FIND YOUR ONE TRUE LOVE.com". She stared hard at the photo of the man she was on her way to meet.
"But my car," she thought.
Here is what Amber had to say about the prompt: "It's a Mystery" (a mysterious gift shows up at your door, who is it from? where did it come from?)
It is another quiet, rainy day in the Midwest. The fire is crackling in the fireplace and I am curled up on the couch with a good book. Out of nowhere, a loud noise emanates from outside. It is a wail that penetrates my very soul, causing me to fly off of the couch in a startled leap towards the door. I thrust it open expecting to find a wounded animal, but instead there is a beautifully wrapped gift sitting on the mat. The wail stops suddenly when I pick the package up. Puzzled, I carry the present inside out of the cold and place it on the table. The crying begins again so I rip off the paper and open the box. Inside is a small child with curly blond hair. I am extremely puzzled. Where did she come from? What should I do? I pick the baby up and find an envelope under her blanket. As I sit down to rock her I open the envelope and find a handwritten note:
“You have prayed for a child to call your own for a very long time. Sometimes you must remember that my timing is perfect. Here is an angel just for you. Raise her, love her, care for her, and guide her as she grows.”
I am at a loss for words. Who would have ever guessed that my prayers would be answered in the form of a beautiful Christmas box? Every Christmas we no longer pay attention to the presents or the ornaments, but to what truly matters. Our Christmas miracle reminds us to always have faith even when we cannot see how our prayers will be answered.
And Sonnet's choices:
This is Annie's contribution to last week's prompt, "Memento."
No comments:
Post a Comment