Some pretty short flash fiction for today, on the topic of blackouts. This was written for TYWI’s summer camp and has been edited and revised since, so I hope you enjoy this tiny slice of fiction!
Blackout
Staring at a cheaply-carpeted floor, I sigh. My feet dangle off the side of the creaky bed, grey socks not quite touching the floor. Limbo. That’s what it feels like.
I have no idea what’s going on.
My eyes are aching. Probably an argument. But it could have been a sad TV show or an errant memory just as easily. Memory–ha. That’s ironic. A memory causing loss of memory. I should tell my therapist that one, to see if it makes her laugh.
She frowns too much.
Silence is choking my stuffy little box room, but I can’t bring myself to move. It feels like I’ve only just woken up. My head is misty, eyes still sore, fingers buzzing. Cold and warm. That early morning feeling.
But it’s late into the afternoon. Almost sunset. I know that from the light, the orange tones dressing the beige wallpaper. No holes. No marks. Nothing too bad has happened, then.
A little shiver clings to my knees, climbing up my thighs to find my spine. That’s not true. Anything could have happened.
I just don’t know what.
Oskar Leonard 