Six years of dating meant she could read a man quickly. She’d been watching this one for fifteen minutes, sitting opposite her on the Tube. The signs were good: dark socks, requisite number of fastened shirt buttons, reasonably but not overly-groomed, neutral newspaper.
She cleared her throat. “Excuse me…”
He looked up and his eyes widened with what she hoped was delighted surprise as he opened his mouth to reply…
His sneeze was enormous and delivered entirely into the newspaper, which he re-folded and placed on his seat when he got out at Blackfriars.
From then on she took taxis.
Sandra Hirons is originally from Canada but now based in the UK where she works in the heritage sector. Her flash fictions have been published by Books Ireland, Anansi Archive, Pulp Fictional and she was a finalist in Mslexia’s Flash Fiction competition 2023.
She was also shortlisted in our most recent Flash Fiction competition.
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Enter our flash fiction competition here, to win cash prizes and publication.
Submit to our Fiction123 here.
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