Friday Flash Fiction
  • Home
    • Opportunities at FFF
    • About Friday Flash Fiction
    • Terms & Conditions
  • 100-Word Stories
  • Longer Stories
  • Poetry
  • Authors
    • A
    • B
    • C
    • D
    • E-F
    • G-I
    • J-L
    • M-O
    • P-R
    • S-V
    • W-Z
  • Submissions
    • 100-Word Submissions
    • 500-Word Submissions
    • Short Poetry Submissions
    • Writing Good Flash Fiction >
      • How to complete the Entry Form
    • Appeals/Feedback Request
    • Contact FFF
    • Technical Stuff >
      • Terms & Conditions
      • GDPR Compliance
      • Duotrope
    • Support FFF

P.O. Box 242, by David Chek Ling Ngo

29/10/2021

 
Picture
[Photo credit: Yi Chang]
In the photograph is the post office in Sibu,
with post boxes built into the exterior walls,

one – P.O. Box 242,
in the top-centre row of the wall facing the side road –
my father rented for his entire life since as far back as my memory,

which he would check daily, as if it had to be checked,
encouraging me to try to open while growing up in the 70s
from needing to be lifted to standing on tiptoe and reaching it,

which was to me the address I wrote
on envelopes of letters for home when living abroad in the 80s
to inform about address change, acceptance to university, first love,

which was stubbornly used as the address to receive exam results
even when I was thousands of miles from home,
but only few miles from the campus where I went daily,

which has been providing generations of my family
with a treasure of memories and experiences over decades.
Dee Lorraine
29/10/2021 03:23:14 pm

A loving family history -- in a neat box. Thanks, David.

David Ngo Chek Ngo
29/10/2021 04:45:14 pm

Yes, Dee, it contains our treasure. Many thanks.

Jim B. link
29/10/2021 04:00:30 pm

Wow - nicely done, David. A "poetic" look through time and growing up and the changes we see and feel, all through the precious letters and notes and cards that passed through that box.
I'm a post office fan, so this was a treat.
Jim

David Chek Ling Ngo
29/10/2021 04:56:41 pm

For a moment I was a bit worried that no one would know what it was, in this social media generation. I'm happy that you like it. Many thanks Jim.

Sue Clayton
30/10/2021 02:17:46 am

When far away from home a P.O. Box number can be your only connection. What a wealth of memory lies behind No. 242.

David Chek Ling Ngo
30/10/2021 04:04:03 am

Many thanks Sue. Yes it's the main communication line, a family journal, a source of happiness, going both ways, while being part of the life journey. Appreciate your read and sharing.


Comments are closed.

    Poetry

    This is the section where fiction prose becomes something else. We still expect the poems to be short, though – sonnets, perhaps, or around that length at the very most.

    Poems submitted should be
    no longer than 160 words
    and contain
    no more than 16 lines.

    100 words remains the approximate target...

    AND SO THEREFORE:
    We have decided
    We really don't like haikus
    They're not proper verse.


    Please submit using the Poetry Submissions Page.


    Please feel free to comment (nicely!) on any poems – writers appreciate it.
    Just at the moment, though, we're moderating some of them so there might be a slight delat before they appear.

    Picture

    Archives

    June 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

Picture
Website by Platform 36