Category: Flash Fiction

Outside the box

Marcus paced the living room. On the couch, his mother stared into space while his father flipped a magazine. They weren’t too happy with his engagement. They preferred Jessica to Jose. Marcus, however, had decided.

“Would they like me?” José had doubted. “I’m marrying you, and I love you.” Marcus had replied every single time.

“José—weird name for a girl.” His father broke into Marcus’s thoughts. “Jecintha,” his mother responded.

“Oh.”

Marcus paced faster.

When the doorbell rang, he ran. His transman fiancé, José, looked as smart as ever. Together they walked inside, Marcus eager to release his burden.

Corporate promises

“But—”

Mason interrupted Peter in mid sentence. “No more discussions. You should leave.” Peter stood rooted, eyes welling up. Mason cut in. “Peter, don’t make me call security.”

Peter turned, and with his head low, walked out leaving the building that had been his office and the people who had been his family for the past seven years.

He’d been faithful in times good and bad. Even when the company declared near-bankruptcy, and the rats left the sinking ship, Peter had been there. He loved his job so much that he offered lifetime loyalty.

The company offered no such thing.

Fake promises

mane.jpg

“You need to control it,” Mark’s mother ranted while he observed himself in the mirror. He didn’t reply. It wasn’t the first time.

“If this continues, your reputation at work will deteriorate,” she continued despite his lack of expression. “Do something!” She concluded, irritated with his muteness.

Mark sighed before turning away. He was happy with his appearance—a lawyer’s coat suit him well. It was his hair that sprawled over his head, refusing to sit snug. Exasperated, he frowned at the tiny jar of hair gel on his dressing table. It’d cost a fortune, promising to “Tame that mane.”

A dreamer she was

basketball

Alicia’s counsellor remained impassive. It wasn’t the first time a child blamed an unsupportive family. But Alicia was different. She hadn’t attacked her parents or run away. She had, instead, hurt herself.

Her parents wanted a boy who’d bring home the Olympic dream. Alicia, however, had dreamt of bringing home the Pulitzer. When her father enrolled her for basketball, puny Alicia had to become athletic. With protein and unprescribed drugs for breakfast, she was ready in months.

Every time she dunked victory, she dunked her passion down, too. Now five years later, banned for drug abuse, Alicia dreamt no longer.

A different future

“We need to act now. For too long now, we’ve talked about saving our planet without doing anything about it.”

Jane had had enough. Her teacher had vouched that the documentary was worthy of her while. It wasn’t. It was just a rant about ancient humans. She sighed. Things had changed now.

Factories were organic now. They manufactured oxygen for trees and people. Vegan pills were meals, fruits superfoods, and meat non-existent. The weather remained temperate, ice solid, and volcanos dormant. For once, the air was clean and so were governments.

Life in 3017 was much different from life in 2017. Promising?