Miramichi Flash showcases four outstanding flash fiction: “Stones My Mother Carved From the Mountain” by Noa Covo; “New Old” by Tara Isabel Zambrano; “The First Man on the Moon” by Rosie Garland; and “Day Terrors” by Jonathan Cardew; in its September 2021 Issue, today. — Enjoy!
“STONES MY MOTHER CARVED FROM THE MOUNTAIN” BY NOA COVO
As children, we would speak to the giants through the pipe that snaked up the mountain and blossomed into an ear trumpet miles above us. We never really had anything to say, so we resorted to niceties. How’s the weather up there? Seen any good birds recently? The blueberries are lovely this year.
“NEW OLD” BY TARA ISABEL ZAMBRANO
Before your mother’s death, your father sat anywhere in the living room. Afterward, he’d place himself where he could see the urn holding her ashes. One day, he scoops out a tablespoon of ash and mixes it with his tea. Then he sits outside, up to his face in the pink evening as the light falls away.
“THE FIRST MAN ON THE MOON” BY ROSIE GARLAND
Upon landing, Johannes Kepler looks back at Earth, a blue-green ball tossed high in lunar sky. He makes the grunt of satisfaction known to his most intimate friends, dips quill and writes: one can only experience such homesick affection when one admires a beloved object from afar.
His first steps stagger. Despite the wine steeped in opium, the damp sponges squeezed into his nostrils, he cannot shake off queasiness. Four hours in the arms of demons is the most enervating method of transportation imaginable, more exhausting than a haycart bounced over rocks.
“DAY TERRORS” BY JONATHAN CARDEW
The client took my coat and led me down a corridor to an ornate living room. On a large, oval table lay a cloth and five candles. Two of the candles were lit. He motioned for me to sit down.
“You’ll drink Scotch?”
“I’ll drink water, please.”
He looked at me like I was asking for something unusual.
He poured a Scotch and a glass of water, and then circled the table.
