
![]() On a holiday-break, Sam and Bob, two college students arrived in Tavira, Portugal in a late evening. Tavira had seen its historic glory days. Next day, while exploring the place, the duo spotted a brick building along the waterfront of the town. They entered the building to find rows after rows of fresh catch of the day of the local fishermen, not the fish, but octopus. They selected two, paid for them and carried them across the street to a local grille. The friendly owner flame-broiled them into the “Delicacy of Tavira”, serving with a pint of Sagres, on house.
Bitch Bastard my father would rail at my mother. Why the Bastard, I wondered? And it was explained to me that she didn’t look like either of her two sisters, who looked alike. I believe she came to the U.S. when she was about four, accompanied by her mother and sisters—her father having gone on ahead to establish himself. She complained, My father would never walk with me. Straight back to me, walking ahead with my two sisters but never with me.
The humans were shocked when the aliens landed their spacecraft on Earth. The creatures each had three eyes, four arms, and four legs, and their blue skin seemed to glow.
“Amazing!” Ted gasped. “I’ve never seen anything like them.” “Me, neither,” Anita replied. She turned to the aliens. “Hello. Welcome to Planet Earth! Where are you from?” They looked at the humans, puzzled. Then one stepped forward, and spoke. “Yakka foob mog. Grug pubbawup zink wattoom gazork. Chumble spuzz!” Yvette laughed. “Looks like they know ‘Calvin and Hobbes’. Understanding them could take a while, though. Sounds like a fun challenge! He’d always been in control, head boy, first-class degree, stellar career, the trophy wife.
But then his wife left him. She would no longer bend to his will, drive in his lane. No matter, he strove on without her to become a CEO. He rode pressure like a surfer on stormy seas. “Slow down,” his doctors said. He accelerated. The stroke came just before the big merger deal. Half-paralyzed in a hospital bed, he glowers at the old nurse. Yet she knows on her next visit he’ll break down and weep. She’s seen these men in control a thousand times. Ann looked at the tear in her faded jeans. With a sigh, she slipped them on, shivering slightly as she reached for her Black Sabbath Tour 2013 tee shirt - it had seen better days. As she grabbed her trainers, she noticed the scuff on the front had turned into a hole. The girl scowled, but put them on anyway.
“Tch!” Ann looked at the central heating controls. “Must get Eddie to come in to fix the thermostat. It’s Baltic in here!” Then she grinned as she walked to the car. “But I LOVE office dress-down day!” “I’m still waiting for global warming to kick in.”
“Not half. It’s been a long winter.” British weather offered conversation for every situation. Our new neighbours—four small children and a dog—moved in last week. We watched, half-hidden behind curtains, as they installed a trampoline in their garden. It had been cold and wet ever since. “How old are your wee ones?” “The twins are three, Alex is five and Karly’s six.” The four of them had appeared, fanning out behind their dad. They regarded me coolly, shaking their head when told to say hello. War was silently declared. This isn't really fiction at all: it's a fictional account of a real event. The young woman greeted me cheerfully in the corridor.
"Will you marry me?" "Marry you??!!" "Go on, it's the 29th February. I can do the proposing." "Interesting idea, Caroline. I really like you, but there are difficulties..." She smiled innocently. "Such as?" "Well... for a start, I'm your teacher. You're fourteen, I'm a bit older. And I'm already spoken for – I've been married for 30 years." "Nonsense," she said. "Love will out." I chuckled. "Caroline, one day you'll make some man very happy." Everyone knew that half of the third year boys had experienced a little of Caroline's 'happiness' already. Throughout his professional career, Dr. Bhaskar Sen had been researching for a novel cure of cancer by exploring a complex biological pathway. He just spent an entire night in the laboratory finishing a long-running experiment, en route to his endeavor. In the morning, he came down to the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee along with the daily newspaper. There, on the front-page, an image of a row of dead citizens from a war-conflicted Mid-Eastern country. They were gassed with a toxic agent, by their own government.
Dr. Sen wondered “Why do some of us attempt to save lives?” The radio buzzed in my ear.
“Cut the red wire.” The countdown on the timer was soft but sounded like a bell in a clock-tower. My visor foggy, my hands trembling, I fought through the dripping sweat to see clearly. One attempt. That’s all I have. Franco shot me a look. Grimace scoured her features into facial mush. She snapped her rifle at the curious, approaching locals. Maybe the heat was getting to me. All the wires were red. If I fucked up, all of those people would die. I held my breath, closed my eyes and snipped a wire. The sun through the blinds behind her dimmed slightly to the smile she gave him when they first spoke each morning. No matter the days’ fluctuating moods, even if the smile disappeared, her eyes emitted contagious joy, a joy from elsewhere, one only she could channel. When she announced the good news, unsurprisingly, he felt her irradiant happiness in congratulatory embrace. Love created so joy could beget joy. Naturally, he would share her happiness.
That was before the blood. Her smile occasionally appears, but the eyes seem eclipsed by the barrenness that she subconsciously embraces with her hands, alone. Frank the museum employee was honored to have the task of archiving important historical items for displays. He created a plan to arrange everything, and diligently began his work.
Things came up, though, and Frank fell hopelessly behind. Between serving visitors and dealing with unexpected daily issues, Frank was weeks behind on his archiving. He doubted he’d ever catch up. But then Frank thought of the museum’s patrons, and how much they enjoyed the exhibits. This thought made Frank smile, and made him determined to archive all items. The satisfaction of visitors made his work so fulfilling in the end. To celebrate the coming of Spring, we at Friday Flash Fiction are giving our readers the chance to win a week's holiday at Disneyland Florida for you and your family – or for a family of your choice. To win, all you have to do is answer the following question correctly, and you will be entered into a prize draw. The first name drawn out will win 7 night's stay for two adults and three children at Disneyland Florida, including flights. Competition entry is completely free. All you have to do is to answer the following question correctly: Terms and conditions apply. Employees, friends and relatives are not eligible to enter. All entrants must be fully resident citizens of Pluto at time of entry.
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