We’re delighted to present this remarkable flash fiction selected with great care by our esteemed editors, Lucy Aur and Elizabeth Kemball. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, this work captures the essence of the fleeting yet impactful nature of the genre. It embodies our commitment to delivering high-quality, thought-provoking literature that resonates on multiple levels. We invite you to immerse yourself in this narrative and join us in celebrating the infinite potential of the written word.
Everyday Miracle
You lost your key to the Dublin room. You lost your rail pass at Lille. You had lost your watch by the time you missed the day’s last bus. You were taken in by nuns, somewhere
in the empty middle of Spain. You lost the paper they inked as you left, the script place-name in cursive light blue. In Spanish to miss the bus is to lose the bus. You gave your thanks to the wind when at last you got home, said you believed in the reach of gratitude, without the substance of an envelope or stamp. The convent was a just apparition, in a mislaid moment, as you lost your way.
I asked you how the cloister looked, for a taste of the soup with beans and wild herbs, how you slept. Your answers were small, fine, OK. Miracles from your every day.
Amruta Gaiki
Dear J
Dear J,
Quite a while ago, someone asked me how I defined kindness. That was right after I had said that you were the kindest person I knew. And I guess your birthday is the perfect time to attempt to answer this question.
So, first up, happy birthday! I wish I could be there with you, to celebrate with you. Have a wonderful year ahead, full of love and joy. I know this must be hard to read right now, but know that I’ll always be here for you. Call me anytime.
Coming back to the question, what do I mean by kindness? The endless sequence of kind acts I’ve witnessed you perform? Getting me a gift on my birthday when you had barely known me for a month? Making us free mocktails as a farewell gift? Accepting my reality unquestioningly? Yes, I guess I am partly thinking about those. But more than that, I’m also thinking about how much I have changed and grown since I met you, J. My capacity to accept and love has increased because I met you. And I do not know what to say or do, except celebrate your enormous, beautiful heart and your wonderfully kind spirit today. I wish you get everything you’ve ever wanted in life, that you’re never bereft of love or happiness. Know that you’re the one person in the world I wish that for.
But besides your acts of kindness, I love you for your strength. I know that even if no one else speaks up, you will. And that to me is kindness. Daring to speak up for someone when everyone else is vilifying them. It was through you that I understood that kindness requires strength. And immense fortitude. I hope you always find it, even if sometimes it seems like you can’t. I love you. Call me soon.
Always,
A
Let’s drop the Hallmark card fantasies. Nature isn’t serene. It’s not here to cradle you while you write love letters to daffodils.
Beautiful Little Fools will be a stunning hardcover anthology celebrating and interrogating the glamour, obsession, and decadence of the Gilded Age, inspired
Are you a writer with a winter-themed story waiting to shine? The Broken Spine is seeking submissions for its 2025 Festive Short
The Broken Spine is a poetry and arts collective proudly published on the coastal edge of North-West England. Founded in 2019 by Alan Parry and Paul Robert Mullen – two school friends reunited after twenty years through a mutual love of poetry.
