Worthing Flash

TesCraft©55625 lands at night and reanimates me. I open a ValueNutriBreak©, eat, depilate, then run a system diagnostic. The planet should sustain life but TesCraft©55625 cannot access further data. It is nine months since TesCraft©55625 showed an ERROR message and mapped an unfamiliar star system. I can only hope TesCorp4© 's colony has reported my non-appearance. My supplies will not last and I do not have the codes to access the cargo. It is against TesCorp© policy. Dawn emerges and I stare at the plethora of green which fills the screen. * The cold hits first. Then the wet. But the air—I take in huge gulps, inhale until I’m giddy. So much green. And the trees—all trees on TesCorp7© are in TesRec© domes. None are as resplendent as these. The wet passes, and as unguarded radiation heats the day an eerie polyphonic resonance penetrates my ears. I activate TesCraft©55625’s cloaking device from my wristband then head downhill, towards a dark green mass. The mass is thous...

Red, orange and yellow leaves surround gaudy plastic Gerberas and teddy bears more fitting for a child than an adult. You loved, you danced, you worked hard for that degree and would soon have been a dad, although you didn’t know. I didn't know either. Your mother's only son. She never wanted to let you go, having lost her husband , your father , so young. All that dark trapped inside you . I thought we’d turned a corner, moved towards the light. What happened that morning to change your mind? I haven’t told your mother yet. She banned me from the funeral. Lauren M Foster Bio: Lauren is a writer and musician from Charnwood. Published in Ink  Pantry, DIY Poets, The Journal, 81 Words and more. Drummer and  vocalist in The Cars that Ate Paris, a garage-punk band.