March 2024 Flash Fiction Winners: Secrets
Open Category Winner
Flesh
By Michelle Yu
That flat, fleshy, misshapen creature stuck out, at a 90-degree angle, from my mum’s head. The other ear lay flat, normal, flush. But this one, this creature, it spoke of secrets – the secret that my mum hadn’t been cared for as a child. That her mum, my grandmother, had laid her carelessly down when she was a baby, squashing her ear out flat. Left her like that for days on end, till her ear had fossilised and hardened into that flat, fleshy creature on the side of her head, a secret sign of my grandmother’s neglect of her only child.
Michelle is a poet and writer who deals in the minute and the moving. Filled with metaphor, her vivid and thought-provoking pieces breathe new life into common, quotidian experiences that often cross our lives without second thought. Her current works explore the profound senses of home, growth and identity, through evocative intimations.
@the_sun_shines_back
Open Category - Runners-up
Secrets
By Marceline Rose
Bucket of chalk, check. Candles, check. Charred bones, check. My familiar Stolas, check. Corpse, check. I draw a circle on the cathedral floor around the cadaver. I carve out runes, while Stolas scatters bones. Big breath. Candles light up. I slam my hands on the circle. Sparks fire up. The entire cathedral illuminates in a purple bang.
The dust settles. The corpse is gone. Like it was never ever there. I smile at Stolas. All evidence of his murder has been destroyed. Almost. I mouth one word. “Decay.” Stolas crumbles into dust. Now nobody will ever know of my secrets.
Marceline Rose (25, she/they) is a creative who’s passionate about writing and inspiring others to write—a passion that compelled them to co-create a university society dedicated to creative writing called the Creative Literature and Writing Society (CLAWS), a society dedicated to supporting student writers of all levels and backgrounds. Her specialty is fantasy and sci-fi writing, particularly urban fantasy and magic realism where fantastical stories are grounded in elements all too close to the real world. Marcie’s previous study of psychology and creative writing, her current social work studies, and her work in peer support work and the creative arts frames her writing to be character-driven, and centred around the exploration of character psyches, group dynamics, and a character's place in the world.
@dibarmar196
Kids Category Winner
The Incident
By Hamish Green
A boy was having a peaceful day, until he heard a whirring noise. He shivered. He approached the door, but when he looked, there was nothing. He felt like he was going paranoid. He continued with his day. Nothing bad will happen, he thought to himself.
Later, he tripped. When he got up, he saw the devil’s face on his knee. He was terrified. His ears were ringing.
An arm reached out of the gutter. He heard screams for help, so he grabbed it, but then it wouldn’t let go. It pulled him in.
To this day, he’s still missing.
Hamish Green is a 10-year-old writer based in Melbourne.
Our monthly Flash Fiction contest is co-hosted with Melbourne writing collective, The Provocative Inklings. This contest is free to enter, and writers of all ages, from anywhere in the world, are invited to submit! Follow us on Instagram or subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date.
