2014 Flash competition winning stories
First Prize: Harvest by David Andrews
Cans and packets on the left, boxes to the right, kids everywhere. I’ve brought baked beans, I’ve got jam. Who’s it for? Nobody knows. Provender in the school hall, pouched in orange or blue carrier bags, easy to transport said the teachers.
Altogether now, All things Bright and Beautiful, tiny voices chiming, silver birds loose in the hall.
Milly carried her marrow to the front like a baby.
“Christ, the bloody girl’s brought fresh, a marrow, everybody hates marrows”.
“Thank you Milly, it’s lovely but we can’t have fresh you know, it might have bugs or germs, bring a can tomorrow why don’t you?.”
Milly studied the display, a shrine to plenty. Dad had said they’d love a marrow, always did when he was a kid.
“Take it outside Milly, there’s a good girl.”
“There’s always one, why can’t she just bring a tin like everyone else?”
Milly walked out of the school gates and up the road. They were singing “Morning has Broken” as she left. Miss Palser’s piano tinkled, distant and hollow.
She came to another shrine, flowers lain at the foot of a telegraph pole. Photo of a grinning boy. She walked past it every day and didn’t know who he was; mum said he was dead because he was stupid on his motorbike. She laid the marrow amongst the flowers, a live thing nesting on lifeless brown blooms. The dead boy lives with germs and bugs, she thought; he won’t worry about a marrow.
Second Prize: The Magician by Krishan Coupland
Against her better judgement, she married the magician. He was a sweet man and she was dedicated to him. During the wedding ceremony he made fragrant rose petals rain from the ceiling of the chapel. That first night, as they lay in bed together, he conjured silk scarves from nowhere, and made fireworks explode from his fingertips.
Months passed. It was still enchanting to her when he would produce pure white doves from behind her ears, or read her mind when she opened her mouth to speak. He was a sweet man and she was dedicated to him. He didn’t make fireworks and rose petal showers anymore – his magic was more tender now. Quieter and not quite so flashy.
Years passed. He hid coins under cups for her, and pulled an endless string of silken handkerchiefs from his sleeve, but it wasn’t the same. She longed to be sawn in half. She had dreams in which he escaped from a locked fish tank with only seconds of breath remaining. Their garden bristled with unconjured rabbits. The eaves of their house sagged with the weight of ageing doves.
Months passed. It was still enchanting to her when he would produce pure white doves from behind her ears, or read her mind when she opened her mouth to speak. He was a sweet man and she was dedicated to him. He didn’t make fireworks and rose petal showers anymore – his magic was more tender now. Quieter and not quite so flashy.
Years passed. He hid coins under cups for her, and pulled an endless string of silken handkerchiefs from his sleeve, but it wasn’t the same. She longed to be sawn in half. She had dreams in which he escaped from a locked fish tank with only seconds of breath remaining. Their garden bristled with unconjured rabbits. The eaves of their house sagged with the weight of ageing doves.
Short list
A thousand Godmothers by Rebecca Camu
Monster by Vanessa Savage
The swimming teacher by Jane Skinner
The white stork by Jenny Adamthwaite
United by Steve Martin
Long list
Altar of lost things by Barbara Leahy
Approval by Patricia Boylan
Leopard by Russell Reader
Messiah by Lynne Voyce
Mud on my hands by Shelli Tape
Rock with gravity by Hugh King
Romance by numbers by John Bunting
Second hand clothes by Polly Francis
Something beautiful by Clare Girvan
Taking the plunge by Sharon Amos
The boy with clown feet by Alison Clibbens
The seahorse by Deborah Smith
The standoff by Carol Kennedy
A thousand Godmothers by Rebecca Camu
Monster by Vanessa Savage
The swimming teacher by Jane Skinner
The white stork by Jenny Adamthwaite
United by Steve Martin
Long list
Altar of lost things by Barbara Leahy
Approval by Patricia Boylan
Leopard by Russell Reader
Messiah by Lynne Voyce
Mud on my hands by Shelli Tape
Rock with gravity by Hugh King
Romance by numbers by John Bunting
Second hand clothes by Polly Francis
Something beautiful by Clare Girvan
Taking the plunge by Sharon Amos
The boy with clown feet by Alison Clibbens
The seahorse by Deborah Smith
The standoff by Carol Kennedy
