Flash Fiction Friday 2023 – Week 51
Flash Fiction Friday continues in 2023. New pieces appear every Friday on my Patreon throughout the year. The minimum pledge to read them before anyone else is $3 per month. and the number of pieces available is tied to the monthly pledge total so the more you support my efforts, the more you’ll get to read. Find out what they’re all about and check out some excerpts from this week’s update in this post.
A Christmas Tree
Hello. I’m so glad you dropped by. I don’t know if you celebrate Christmas or not but I’d like to wish you a Merry Christmas nonetheless. They say this is the season to be jolly and I truly believe it is but, sometimes people don’t have reasons to be happy at all during this time of the year. Are you sad? What happened? Please tell me. I’m quite a good listener, I promise.
Oh, I see… you’re feeling lonely. You’re not the only one. It’s funny how we can be surrounded by friends and family and still feel like there’s no one else around. Many good people get depressed around the Holiday Season because of things like this. They listen to the intrusive thoughts in their heads instead of focusing on all the good things in their lives. Do you do that, too? Yeah, that’s the problem right there.
So… I can’t promise I’ll make all those nasty ideas go away but I would like to help you find your true self. All you need to do is shift your focus and good things will come to you one way or another. If you’re willing to let me show you how, we can start right away.
(…)
Don’t Open Before Christmas
The red and silver wrapping came with a handwritten note that read, “Don’t open before Christmas.” but Greg hated surprises and patience wasn’t exactly his strong suit. If Willa didn’t want him poking around, she shouldn’t have left the present under the tree one week in advance.
“Okay, what do we have here?” he held the box in his right hand. It was surprisingly light and something appeared to be rattling inside. He shook it next to his ears trying to identify the sound but to no avail. It wasn’t anything familiar and that only made him more curious. He tried to peek under the wrapping but only saw the outline of a sharp-edged wooden box. “Not good enough,” he mumbled.
“Do I open it or not?” he thought. Willa would hate that for sure but he could always wrap it again and then feign shock on Christmas’ eve. He knew where she kept the paper and could always salvage the sticker, so… “Sorry, babe, but I got to know.”
(…)
Santa Bot
Santa Claus opened his eyes and saw a beautiful redhead woman in her early thirties looking down at him. She was wearing a lab coat and holding a screwdriver in her right hand. She seemed genuinely happy to see him come to his senses.
“Who are you and where am I?” the old man asked, his weary eyes filled with confusion and distrust. The last thing he remembered was leaving the North Pole first thing in the morning and now he was on an unknown bed with a woman other than his wife. If she caught wind of this, he was in for a world of pain when he arrived home.
“Shh, relax… it’s okay,” the woman purred. “There was an accident but I’ve taken care of you. You’ll feel like your old self in no time. Well… mostly. Some things will never be the way they were, I’m afraid.”
“What do you mean? Tell me what happened! What is your name?”
“You don’t know?” the woman pouted. “I thought you knew the names of every person in the world but maybe that only applies to children and I stopped being one a long time ago. My name is Elsa Tanner. Dr. Elsa Tanner.”
(…)
Special Ingredient
Ruth was a woman of many talents but cooking wasn’t one of them. She always went overboard with the seasonings. Her dishes were either too salty, too spicy, or too sweet. No one remembered ever eating something from her that tasted just right.
It was therefore a surprise to all her friends that her early Christmas dinner was the best thing they ever had. Something was not right.
“There’s no way you cooked this!” Gloria exclaimed. Of everyone sitting at the table, she was the one with the most exquisite palate, and she had no trouble making her voice heard.
“Oh, I did!” Ruth smirked, reveling in their disbelief. She had been wanting to surprise them for a long time and now she had finally done it. It was great!
“But how?” Thomas interjected, asking for seconds. “No offense, but this…”
(…)
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