With thanks to Miguel S. for the prompt and the generous allowance of 100 words to unlock the ‘Puzzle’:
Claustrophobic hush. Once he started, she understood how to play it. He demanded complete silence as soon as she’d cleared supper. Not the whisper of a novel’s page unlocking its secrets, nor the hiss of embroidery thread personalising the handkerchiefs he hawked into. She sat upright, back stiffened by the high-backed chair, while he hunched over his obsession. Her mind wandered, drifting to fantasies where she was the obsession. That was not this world. His attention fragmented into a thousand pieces, slowly reassembled. The jigsaw piece she’d hidden pressed against her flesh. This was another puzzle he wouldn’t work out.
Where would you head with the prompt?
We would love to read your flash fiction in the comments (or share it with THE FICTION DEALER ).
If you love 100-word tales as much as we do, there are plenty more here:
and here:
