Flash Stories

The House That Breathed

hamed Jan. 15, 2025, 4:25 p.m.

The walls of the house whispered at night. Not loudly, just a faint rustle, like leaves brushing against each other. For the Patel family, it was another adjustment in the long list of changes since moving to Eden Grove, the world’s first entirely sustainable community.

“This house is alive,” Priya said one morning as she stood in the kitchen, watching the sunlight filter through translucent panels made from recycled algae bioplastics.

“It’s not alive,” her husband Ravi muttered, tinkering with the waterless composting sink. “It’s just... interactive.”

Their ten-year-old daughter, Anya, skipped into the room, her bare feet making no sound on the bamboo-graphene flooring. “It is alive! The walls breathe, remember? It’s how they clean the air.”

Priya nodded absently. The house’s organic insulation did filter carbon dioxide, and the solar tiles hummed faintly as they harvested energy. But it was more than that. She could feel the house, …

Lost, In The Sky He Loved So Much

hamed Jan. 18, 2024, 7:33 p.m.

He had always wanted to be a pilot. Ever since he was a kid, he would gaze at the sky and imagine himself flying among the clouds. He studied hard, joined the air force academy, and graduated with honors. He was assigned to a fighter jet squadron, and he felt like he had reached his destination.

But then, the war broke out. He was ordered to bomb enemy targets, to shoot down hostile planes, to kill without mercy. He hated it. He hated the violence, the bloodshed, the fear. He hated himself for being a part of it. He realized that his destination was not what he had dreamed of. He wanted to fly, not to fight.

One day, he decided to defect. He took his jet and flew away from the base, hoping to find a safe place to land. He knew he was risking his life, but he …

Misereable Proud

hamed Jan. 9, 2024, 5:05 p.m.

He was a devout man, who followed his religion with zeal and fervor. He believed that his faith was the only true one, and that everyone else was either misguided or evil. He hated those who did not share his beliefs, and he shunned them from his life.

He thought he was doing God's will, but he was actually isolating himself from the world. He had no friends, no love, no joy. He only had his dogma, his rituals, his rules. He lived in fear and anger, and he spread them to others.

He never realized how much he was missing out on. He never experienced the beauty of diversity, the richness of culture, the warmth of compassion. He never learned from other perspectives, other experiences, other values. He never grew as a person, as a human being.

He died alone, bitter, and unhappy. He had lived a miserable life, …

The Weight of Choices

hamed Jan. 10, 2025, 6:15 p.m.

Lena stood in the bustling airport terminal, the hum of departing flights a backdrop to her hurried thoughts. She had just returned from a business trip, her mind tangled with deadlines and unanswered emails. Grabbing her suitcase from the baggage claim, she didn’t think twice. It was black, like hers, the same size, the same worn handle from years of travel. She hoisted it onto the trolley and headed to the exit.

It wasn’t until she arrived at home, the evening sun casting long shadows over her apartment, that she realized the mistake. The suitcase wasn’t hers. Her stomach tightened. The zipper, usually stiff, was looser on this one, the fabric slightly worn in places. She opened it, expecting clothes, maybe toiletries. Instead, she found something far more disconcerting.

The first thing that caught her eye was a framed photograph, slightly smudged from travel. A young couple, arms around each …

You Exist! Enjoy it!

khayam Jan. 25, 2024, 9:06 a.m.

خیام اگر ز باده مستی خوش باش
با ماهرخی اگر نشستی خوش باش

چون عاقبت کار جهان نیستی است
پندار که نیستی چو هستی خوش باش

Khayyam, if you are drunk, enjoy it
If you sit with a beauty, enjoy it
Because the end of the work of the world is nothingness
Imagine that you do not exist, you exist. Enjoy it!

Story:

He was a young man who hated life. He suffered every hardship that came his way. He lost his job, he had no money, he was in debt. He had no one to love, no one to care, no one to support him.

He cared too much about the troubles of the world. He worried about the future and the past. He thought too much about the meaning and the purpose of his existence. He never lived in the moment, in the here and now.

He found a poem from Khayam, that …

The Forgotten King

hamed Dec. 23, 2024, 5:27 a.m.

The wind howled through the crumbling ruins of an ancient palace, buried deep within the Alborz mountains. Mehran, a wandering bard, stumbled upon the remnants of a courtyard. Marble lions guarded the entrance, their faces weathered but defiant. In the air lingered a faint hum, like a melody half-forgotten, tethered to the past.

He knelt beside a fountain, its water long dried, and sang an old verse:

"When night betrays the veil of dawn,
The rightful king shall yet be drawn."

No sooner had the words left his lips than the earth beneath him trembled. From the shadows emerged an old man cloaked in shimmering gold, his face obscured by a jeweled mask.

"Who dares disturb the silence of Siyavashgard?" The voice was thunderous, commanding reverence.

Mehran’s heart raced. "A seeker of truth," he replied, clutching his lyre. "Are you a specter, or are you... the king?"

The figure stepped closer, …

Forever Logged In

hamed Jan. 18, 2025, 4:25 p.m.

The first thing Ellie noticed was the silence.

In LuxeVR, the new virtual reality platform, silence wasn’t part of the design. Every scenario—tropical beaches, bustling cities, even alien landscapes—was filled with sound. Yet now, in the lush meadow she’d been exploring, the chirping birds and rustling grass had vanished.

“System glitch,” she muttered, tapping the glowing bracelet on her wrist. It was supposed to be her ticket back to reality. But the interface didn’t appear.

“Exit menu,” she commanded. Nothing.

Her chest tightened. This wasn’t supposed to happen. LuxeVR had been hailed as the safest, most immersive VR experience yet, complete with neural syncing. Ellie had been skeptical at first, but her friends raved about it. “It’s like living another life,” they’d said. “Just try it.”

Now, she regretted listening.

Ellie wandered through the meadow, her panic rising with every step. She tried everything: voice commands, gestures, even closing her …

The Hobbyist

hamed Jan. 7, 2024, 12:49 p.m.

He had poured his heart and soul into his start-up, a revolutionary app that would change the way people communicate. He had worked tirelessly for years, sacrificing his health, his relationships, and his sanity. He had invested all his savings, borrowed money from friends and family, and even mortgaged his house.

But it was all for nothing. His app failed to attract users, his competitors stole his ideas, and his investors pulled out. He was left with nothing but debt, despair, and depression. He had to declare bankruptcy, sell his house, and move into a tiny apartment. He had no job, no income, no future.

He had only one thing left: his hobby. He loved to paint, ever since he was a kid. He had a small collection of brushes, paints, and canvases that he kept in a corner of his apartment. He painted whenever he had some free time, …

The Curse of Love and Immortality - Chapter 7: Parvaneh, the Moonlit Bride

dehongi Jan. 16, 2025, 12:13 p.m.

The king began the next tale with a wistful smile, his gaze lingering on the flickering flames in the hearth.
"Tonight," he said, "I will tell you the story of Parvaneh, the Pari who became known as the Moonlit Bride. Her name, like her destiny, means 'butterfly,' and her beauty was said to shine brightest under the light of a full moon."
The princess leaned forward, her curiosity piqued. "A butterfly beneath the moon… what was her story?"
The king's voice softened as he began. "Parvaneh lived near a great kingdom that held a festival every year to honor the moon. People would gather in the royal gardens on the night of the full moon, wearing silver and white, their laughter and music carrying into the night. Parvaneh, drawn by the beauty of the celebration, would secretly watch from the shadows of the forest. She had always been careful to avoid being seen—until …

The Forgotten Gate

hamed Jan. 19, 2025, 5:41 p.m.

Dr. Parisa Shirazi stood in the biting wind, staring at the jagged ruin jutting out of the barren mountainside. The gray stones, weathered by centuries, bore intricate carvings—a language she didn’t recognize, yet somehow felt she had always known.

“It’s just a wall,” her assistant Navid muttered, kicking at a loose rock. “An old fort, maybe.”

Parisa shook her head, brushing dirt off one of the carvings with trembling hands. The swirling patterns were unmistakable. “This isn’t just a wall,” she whispered. “It’s the wall.”

Navid frowned. “You can’t mean—”

“Yes. Alexander’s Wall.” Her voice was reverent. “The barrier that held back Gog and Magog.”

The legend had been a fascination of hers since childhood: a gate forged by the Great Alexander to imprison ancient forces of chaos. It was dismissed as myth by scholars, but the unearthed carvings told a different story.

Parisa traced a line of script with …