2023 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 21
Write a piece of flash fiction each day of February with the February Flash Fiction Challenge, led by Managing Editor Moriah Richard. Each day, receive a prompt, example story, and write your own. Today’s prompt is to write about a support group.
For today’s prompt, write about a support group.
Remember: These prompts are just starting points; you have the freedom to go wherever your flash of inspiration takes you.
(Note: If you happen to run into any issues posting, please just send me an e-mail at mrichard@aimmedia.com with the subject line: Flash Fiction Challenge Commenting Issue. Fingers crossed there are no tech hiccups!)
Here’s my attempt at a story about a support group:
The Murmuring
“It’s when birds all fly in the same pattern together,” Jay’s saying.
The heat of the coffee is seeping through the cheap cardboard. I shift it in my hands a bit to avoid the burn. On my right, Miles shifts in his chair, his bad knee popping. On my left, Barb takes a loud slurp from her cup.
“I was obsessed with that as a kid—the way they just knew what the others were thinking. The way they all fit together. I never felt that way.” He sniffs, rubs the back of his grimy sweatshirt sleeve across his face. “Maybe that’s dumb.”
“No,” I say.
Barb’s cup pauses on its ascent to her mouth. Miles shifts again, and I can feel his eyes on me. I wonder if this is the first time they’ve ever heard my voice. The coffee cup is hurting me but this time, I let it.
Jay looks at me from across the circle. His eye isn’t as bruised as it was last week.
“Want to expand on that, Brennan?” Marissa asks in her calm, pastor voice.
I shrug. “I get it, that’s all.”
Someone’s phone vibrates a little too loudly. Lennie coughs into her elbow until she’s red in the face. Marissa seems to realize that I won’t be elaborating and asks if anyone else would like to share.
Jay doesn’t stop staring at me. After Miles raises his hand, I look back down at my cup. My fingers are bright red. In my mind’s eye, I can see the swoop and turn of a flock of birds at sunset. I wonder if anyone else in the group can see it too.
Since obtaining her MFA in fiction, Moriah Richard has worked with over 100 authors to help them achieve their publication dreams. As the managing editor of Writer’s Digest magazine, she spearheads the world-building column Building Better Worlds, a 2023 Eddie & Ozzie Award winner. She also runs the Flash Fiction February Challenge on the WD blog, encouraging writers to pen one microstory a day over the course of the month and share their work with other participants. As a reader, Moriah is most interested in horror, fantasy, and romance, although she will read just about anything with a great hook.
Learn more about Moriah on her personal website.
