(A one-hundred word gem by Mick–Leila)
I’ve been making green tomato chutney. Outside in the street, I see a woman and a small boy. He’s walking unevenly, avoiding cracks in the pavement. His mum gives his hand a mighty tug: mother and son, out-of-step.
Then, I can’t remember what weight of sultanas to add. When I find the yellowed recipe, I see it’s in my mum’s handwriting. She’d spelt ‘tomato’ with an ‘e’ at the end, which upset me a little.
I used to say my mum was a difficult woman, but perhaps she wasn’t all that difficult. Maybe it was just that we were out-of-step?
Michael Bloor lives in Dunblane, Scotland, where he has discovered the exhilaration of short fiction, with more than a hundred pieces published in Literally Stories, Everyday Fiction, The Copperfield Review, Litro Online, Firewords, The Drabble, The Cabinet of Heed, Moonpark Review and elsewhere (see https://michaelbloor.com).
Saragun Springs 
A brief little piece that accomplishes much. Clever – thank you – dd
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Glad you liked it, Diane. I was lovely to see it republished today – it appeared previously in the now defunct Drabble on Sept 18th 2020. bw Mick
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‘It’ not ‘I’, damnit
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Mick
For a little “drabble” it says much. It reminds me of something that Hal Holbrook said as “Mark Twain.”
I paraphrase: “When I was fourteen I was stunned by my father’s stupidity. Seven years later I was amazed by how much he had learned.”
Leila
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Ha, well said H.H. Thanks for republishing, Leila. bw Mick
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Mick
This is a great example of what a flash fiction can do. Like a parable it has a human message all of which is contained in the vivid concrete details. This is a tender-hearted piece, or a big-hearted piece, or both. Great work.
Dale
PS
I think a piece like this, as with a poem, is meant to be read more than once. That is part of the purpose of true brevity: saying things that are worth hearing again.
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Thanks for yet more generous comments, Dale. You’re right that really short flash fiction/micro-fiction should aim to be readable more than once, like a poem. And also like a good joke. bw mick
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