As October faded and decayed, November blossomed; the jacaranda tree exploded in fireworks of purple flowers amongst the green tree tops haggling and hunkering over the back fence.
The invasion of colour occurred at the same time they injected her with drugs to fight the cancer in her blood.
And the flowers began to fall, denuding the tree, forming a purple carpet on the backyard lawn; scattered randomly and suggesting they could be counted where they fell or numbered as the hairs on her head. The purple flowers faded, cut off from the tree, turned brown and became one with the earth.
As the last of the flowers fell, tiny green shoots pushed through, heralds of the turning season. And she waited.
Posted in Short Stories
Tagged creativity, fiction friday, jacaranda, microfiction, six sentences, very short story, writing
My latest effort in guerrilla literature, ironically dropped in a shoe store as I was buying new shoes.
Payless Shoes – Centro Shopping Centre, Seven Hills
My father sat me down one Saturday morning, my school shoes in his hand.
“We’re staying here until we can tie our laces,” he said.
There was over and under, loops and rabbit ears, going around trees and over fences. All I saw was a tangle of black spaghetti.
My father pontificated as I struggled in the art of mimicry.
“Shoelaces are like life,” he said. “At first it’s tricky and complicated. It’s fiddly and frustrating. Sometimes, it’s the little things that trip you up.”
Looking back down to my shoes to try again, I looked at my father’s feet. He was wearing a pair of slip on work boots.
And, yes, I did put the postcard into a box of slip on shoes.
Posted in Short Stories
Tagged Friday flash, Humour, life in general, microfiction, postcard prose, slice of life, stupid stuff I like to write, writers, writing
Today I subverted the literary establishment in an act of guerrilla warfare against the digitisation of literature and the commodification of words.
I gave away my words for free.
I give away my words for free here on my blog, but this is subterfuge of the highest order, infiltrating the reading minds of the public one by one.
Moving away from faux hyperbolic rhetoric, I started a new project today: Postcard Prose.
The idea is simple.
Write a story (about 100 words or less is the maximum space) on a 6″x4″ index card (for all intents and purposes, a postcard) and leave it in a public place for someone to find and read.
On the back of the postcard, the reader is invited to take the story home or leave it for someone else to read. It may be read by one person, five people, or no one at all. Also on the back is my web address, and a link to the Postcard Prose page.
It is an individual, handwritten story for the enjoyment of someone to read.
Today I wrote out my #fridayflash Hand Writing from yesterday and left it in the food court of Rouse Hill Town Centre.
You can read the story and see the pictures here – https://afullnessinbrevity.wordpress.com/postcard-prose/
I am always carrying a notebook and pen, ready for ideas. I am now carrying around a packet of index cards should the moment strike. Some will be planned drops, others will be spur of the moment compositions. Wherever I write a piece of Postcard Prose, I will take photos and post them to the Postcard Prose page.
I have plans for two other Postcard Prose projects which will see the light of day later this year.
Now it’s your turn to write someone a story.
I am an English teacher and drummer/percussionist with an interest in literary pursuits, creative endeavours, rhythmic permutations, theological amplifications and comedic outbursts.
Here you will find my creative detritus: articles on living a creative life and writing explorations.
And other ideas I have snaffled from the papers stuck on the fridge door.
Twitter: @RevHappiness
Instagram: @handwrittenpages
My collaborative epistolary novel, "Post Marked: Piper's Reach," written with Jodi Cleghorn (@JodiCleghorn) out now via Vine Leaves Press.
Come and browse through the library; there is no need to be silent.
A Fullness in Brevity - Adam Byatt 
