“How many people do you think have ever lived?” he asks.
My story “How to Find a Prehistoric Ghost” is published on Milk Candy Review.
Tag: flashfiction
Group Hug
“They announce it during an emergency broadcast – we can embrace once more.”
My story “Group Hug” is published on Milk Candy Review.
The Physical Exertion of Human Flight
“Thirty years ago, his brother flew off a cliff.”
My story “The Physical Exertion of Human Flight” is published today over at The Phare.
The Best British & Irish Flash Fiction for 2019-2020
My story ‘We Feed Them to the Lions’ is on the list of The Best British & Irish Flash Fiction for 2019-2020.
You can find the list here – BEST BRITISH & IRISH FLASH FICTION 2019-2020
The original story is over at Okay Donkey – We Feed Them to the Lions
Memory is now a thing of the past
Memory is now a thing of the past. I will teach this during home schooling. How you find facts at your fingertips. How your past is on social media, places on timelines. How software corrects your spelling as you type. I will explain there is no need for mental storage. Instead of this curriculum, I will teach you analysis, validation, interpretation. We will begin immediately, as soon as I remember where I put my phone.
***
A version of this story recently appeared on Paragraph Planet.
Inspired by recent events and home schooling.
Open Heart Surgery
“In our home town, in the nursery where we played and fought like adults. I find it deep in a box of toy cars, remnants of your blood on the plastic, a motorway pile-up in miniature.”
My story “Open Heart Surgery” is published today over at Ellipsis Zine.
http://www.ellipsiszine.com/open-heart-surgery-by-paul-thompson/
We Feed Them to the Lions
“Nine years old, with parents distracted, a boy falls into the lion enclosure.”
My story “We Feed Them to the Lions” is published today on Okay Donkey.
https://okaydonkeymag.com/2019/12/27/we-feed-them-to-the-lions-by-paul-thompson/
Ninety-five percent of my anxieties are unfounded
Ninety-five percent of my anxieties are unfounded. She tells me at our weekly breakfast. To focus on the genuine five percent. The following week I do so, spending ninety-five percent of my time on it. When we meet again, I know ninety-five percent of my anxieties are founded. Focus on the new five percent, she says. And so it goes on, worrying about worrying, and how to tell her I no longer enjoy our breakfasts.
***
This 75-word story first appeared on Paragraph Planet
Good for the Garden
“Good for the garden, my father says.
His skin prickles, raindrops on the window reflecting his anxiety.
Good for your father, my mother says. Behind his back, whispering it to me as we watch him fidget.”
My story, “Good for the Garden” can be found over at Ellipsis Zine.
http://www.ellipsiszine.com/good-for-the-garden-by-paul-thompson/
Pool Party
“She reaches the house at dusk, unfashionably late for the party.
The venue is illuminated and noisy. As she approaches the front door a cocktail glass is thrown from above, shattering on the driveway behind her. Laughter comes from the rooftop terrace, followed by further objects that all miss her as she walks.”
My story, “Pool Party” can be found over at The Cabinet Of Heed.
https://cabinetofheed.com/2018/02/01/pool-party-paul-thompson/
Paul Thompson 