Worthing Flash

-Something funny happened today at work. -Oh? -I taught my class with sunglasses on and didn’t even know it. I just thought it was a cloudy day. -Has that ever happened before? -Once, before my first important talk. I must have told you that. He picks up the sunglasses from the table, peers at her.  -How could you have forgotten? he adds. -It was before my time. How could you have forgotten that?      She gets up to feed their yellow canary. She had wanted a parrot, but he didn’t want something that spoke English.  It would only learn a few phrases at most, she’d cajoled him. You could teach it the ones that amuse you─ you’re a teacher for god’s sake. And it’s not like the bird would argue with you.      He put his foot down and kept it there. Now she has to admit she loves the canary’s sweet song; and he doesn’t mind it. Most of the time he doesn’t really hear it, she thinks.  While she fills its dish, the bird skitters out of the c...

And I thought there was genuinely a dearth of good people in this world!” I learnt about this incident when Rita, the youngest daughter-in-law of my late sister came to our apartment at Dum Dum with her eldest sister. Rita’s eldest sister, Gita Di, was talking to me about her siblings. During the conversation, she mentioned their youngest sister, Mita. “Isn’t she the one who lost her ....?” Going to enquire whether Mita was the sister who lost her husband, I stopped in the middle, having realised that I was crossing boundaries of propriety. A very simple and easy-going woman, Gita Di told me,” Yea, you heard it right. Her husband died some six years ago.” “Your sister must have been quite young then?” I couldn’t help asking. “Correct. She was stepping into her thirties at that time.” She replied. “Didn’t you try to get her married again?” “We did. We pestered her like anything. But she didn’t get married, preferring to stay with her in-laws. She got her husband’s job though....

The Legend of Loof Lirpa Originally published on  April 01, 2021   In 1793 the health ministry of Norway was tasked with measuring the feet of all the citizens. The runaway winner of the contest was a little-known man called Loof Lirpa. His picture, alongside a picture of his feet with a normal-sized pair of feet for comparison, appeared in the newspapers of the day, there were two. The King awarded Loof a thousand Kroner which could be expected to keep him in comfort for the rest of his days. In those days there were no shoe sizes so Loof had to have his shoes specially made. Fortunately his father came from a long line of cobblers. Loof decided to set out exploring.  The first country he discovered was Denmark. Norwegians had heard of Denmark but hitherto they had thought of it as a mythic land inhabited by giants. Danes are similar in size to Norwegians and in fact Loof, with his prodigious feet, was regarded as a giant by them.  He was introduced to the King who ...

A silver Vauxhall with alloy wheels. A 1600. Easy to break into. He knows how to hot wire. His father taught him. Father gone. Left. Walked out. Five years back. Seems forever. The car started, a Def Leppard CD stereo system. He turns the volume up. Loud. Louder. Fifteen minutes later he pulls over. Checks the cubby-hole. Only the car manual there and three CDs he doesn’t recognise. The car is immaculate inside - nothing to identify the owner, not even a packet of sweets. The only personal touch is the chrome skull’s head on the gearstick, and the CDs. Out-of-date. Older guy, must be. He runs his hand over the dashboard, feels the cold of the skull’s head. The seats are low and comfortable. He flicks the electric windows up and down, puts the car back into gear. He hasn’t got his licence yet but he’s been driving for years. The needle hits sixty, and seventy on the long straight road. The seawall to the left, the caravan park to his right. He opens the window and the war...

Robert gets everything in order All the lawns on Mentone Avenue are mowed on Wednesdays. That’s because Robert owns all the houses on Mentone Avenue. It was not the way that Robert had envisaged his retirement working out. He made it to the finish line in the Department for Construction with his home paid for, a secure income from his superannuation for life and some untraceable accounts in the Caymans. His wife left him almost immediately, to partner up with a man who apparently offered more excitement and sense of adventure. Never a keen gardener in the past, growing his own food had now become an obsession for Robert, albeit one with an emphasis on orderliness and strict boundaries. Of course he could not eat even a small proportion of the seasonal harvests, so he gave most of it away to initially grateful (and then later inwardly groaning and discreetly binning) neighbours. Having used most of the arable land he owned, except for a small front lawn, he took advantage of th...

by George Dimitriu Mary was walking through the thick, cool forest, her blood still bubbling. Two days had passed since she had set out, driven by the revolt. How can I let myself be controlled by technology? Let Artificial Intelligence know what I'm doing at any moment, what I want at any moment, what I'm thinking at any moment? The drop that had filled the glass had been the chocolate thing. I would like to eat a chocolate with hazelnuts! she had thought aloud, then unlocked her phone to read her emails. An ad featuring a giant chocolate bar with hazelnuts was playing on the screen. Fear had distorted the beautiful features of his face, which then let itself be invaded by rage. No, I don't want to live in a world that controls me like a pawn. Her blue eyes sparkled. He glances around the room angrily, only to be struck by the calendar hanging on the wall: August 13, 2028. What have we gotten to? What is happening to humanity? After a day and a night of m...