Flash Stories

The Magnetic South Pole

hamed Jan. 16, 2025, 5:59 p.m.

Dr. William Harper sat in the dimly lit cabin, his breath fogging in the cold air that seeped through the cracks in the wooden walls. He gazed out the small, frosted window at the vast, white nothingness beyond. The Antarctic night was long, a canvas of endless ice stretching out like a frozen sea. The world felt smaller here—compressed, as though the weight of the icy landscape could crush the very spirit from a man.

He was supposed to be a part of history. The first to reach the Magnetic South Pole. A dream he’d nurtured for years. But now, standing on the precipice of that dream, William felt the weight of reality pressing against him. Shackleton had already failed. Others before him had turned back, too—men of greater renown, more experience. Yet here he was, alone with a few fellow scientists, still determined to forge forward.

He pulled his …

A Wall of Time

hamed Jan. 17, 2025, 3:18 p.m.

The cold wind cut through the cracks in the brick walls of the East Berlin apartment. Eva stood at the window, watching as the world outside trembled with uncertainty and hope. The Wall was coming down. The same Wall that had defined her existence for nearly three decades. The Wall that had divided her city, her country, her family, and her heart.

She gripped the curtains, her fingers trembling. It was happening. The cheers from the streets outside grew louder, mingling with the rhythmic pounding of hammers on stone. She had never imagined this day would come.

Her thoughts wandered back to the days before the Wall, to her childhood. To the long summer afternoons spent running through the streets of Berlin with Markus. They had been inseparable, two children who saw the world in a way that only the young can—full of wonder and possibility, their dreams as big …

The Nightingale’s Last Song

hamed Jan. 19, 2025, 5:14 p.m.

The old woman sat in her weathered armchair, its floral fabric faded by decades of sunlight streaming through the window. Her name was Shirin, but to her granddaughter Laleh, she was simply Maman Bozorg. The aroma of brewed saffron tea lingered in the air, mingling with the faint scent of rosewater from the sweets they had shared earlier.

Outside, the city of Tehran hummed with its usual nighttime symphony—distant car horns, the faint wail of a street vendor, and the wind whispering through the leaves of the sycamore trees lining their quiet lane. But inside, there was silence.

Laleh sat cross-legged on the rug by her grandmother’s feet, cradling a small ceramic nightingale in her hands. “Tell me again about Rostam,” she whispered.

Shirin smiled, her face a map of lines etched by time and sorrow. Her voice, though soft, carried the weight of generations. “Rostam,” she began, “was not …

The Weight of Knowing

hamed Jan. 14, 2025, 4:07 p.m.

Dr. Anya Calder stood at the podium, the sleek conference room bustling with delegates from across the globe. The *World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2025* report lay on the desk before her, its pages heavy with data she had analyzed late into countless nights. Her fingers trembled as she adjusted the microphone, though the room's air-conditioning chilled her to the bone.

“Thank you for being here,” she began, her voice steady but brittle, like a pane of glass under pressure. She glanced at the crowd: world leaders, economists, activists, and reporters. The weight of their expectations pressed on her chest.

The report was supposed to be about employment trends, labor markets, and policies. But buried within it were her findings—unemployment and displacement driven by cascading climate crises. Rising seas were swallowing entire industries, heatwaves making outdoor work lethal, droughts collapsing agriculture-dependent economies.

“This year’s report reveals …

They Are Comming For Your Job?

hamed Jan. 12, 2024, 3:03 p.m.

Jack was a software developer who loved his job. He enjoyed solving problems, creating applications, and learning new technologies. He was proud of his skills and his portfolio.

But lately, he had been feeling anxious and insecure. He had heard about the new trends of generative AI, which could produce code, design, and content with just a few inputs. He had seen some of the examples online, and they looked impressive and realistic. He wondered if his job was in danger, if he would soon be replaced by a machine that could code faster and better than him.

He decided to try out one of the generative AI tools, just to see what it could do. He signed up for a free trial and entered a simple prompt: "Create a web app that allows users to upload and edit photos". He clicked the generate button and waited.

To his surprise, …

The Unexpected Ally

hamed Jan. 27, 2025, 6:44 p.m.

The red carpet was a battlefield, glittering with smiles and camera flashes. Celebrity drama swirled like smoke around the latest A-list dispute: Julia Monroe and Kate Rivers, Hollywood’s most talked-about actresses, were in the middle of a public feud. What started as a backstage disagreement on set had escalated to social media jabs, tabloid headlines, and interviews where each threw subtle but pointed remarks at the other.

Julia, known for her sharp wit and commanding presence, had called Kate “a diva” during a live interview. Kate, never one to back down, had posted a picture with the caption, “Some people just can’t handle being in the spotlight.”

The media lapped it up, creating a frenzy. Fans of both actresses chose sides, fueling the fire. The feud seemed like it would never end.

Then, at the prestigious gala where both Julia and Kate were expected to make appearances, something unexpected happened.

Two Tables

hamed Jan. 14, 2025, 4:52 p.m.

Sarah gripped her coffee mug, its warmth failing to steady her trembling hands. Across the chrome-and-glass conference table, three executives in tailored suits studied her resume with practiced indifference.

"Your requested salary seems... ambitious," the HR director said, tapping her manicured nail against the paper.

Two floors down and twelve hours earlier, Sarah had cleaned these same conference rooms, emptying waste bins and wiping fingerprints from glass surfaces. The cleaning company had slashed their hours again, spreading the same work across fewer people. When she'd mentioned the union contract their parents' generation had won—back when half the cleaning staff were members—her supervisor had laughed.

"There are twenty people who'd take your spot tomorrow," he'd said. "That's just how it is now."

In the top-floor conference room across town, Sarah's brother Michael leaned back in his ergonomic chair, letting the tension build. He knew three other tech firms were hunting for …

Smoke Signals

hamed Jan. 12, 2025, 5:33 p.m.

The evacuation order came at 3 AM, but Sarah Henderson had been awake since midnight, watching the orange glow creep closer to Pine Valley. Twenty years in California had taught her to read the signs: the shifting winds, the ash coating her windshield, the nervous rustling of animals in the canyon.

"The Martinez family still hasn't left," her husband Mark said, lowering his binoculars. From their hillside home, they could see most of their neighbors loading cars and securing homes.

"Rosa won't leave without her mother's ashes," Sarah replied. "And she can't find them."

What Sarah didn't say was that she'd seen Rosa's teenage son, Miguel, hiding something in the old Peterson shed last week. The same shed where their neighbor, Mr. Peterson, had stored his "collection" before his death last spring. Everyone knew he'd been a hoarder, but nobody knew what he'd hoarded.

The fire sirens wailed closer. Sarah …

The Biggest Strife

hamed Feb. 7, 2024, 7:29 p.m.

He had loved her since he was a young boy, and she had loved him back. They grew up together, they went to school together, they dreamed of a future together. He was a brilliant student, a talented writer, a promising scholar. She was a beautiful girl, a talented singer, a promising artist.

They got married as soon as they graduated, and they moved to the city to pursue their careers. He got a job at a prestigious university, and she got a contract with a famous record label. They were happy, they were successful, they were in love.

But fame and fortune changed her. She became obsessed with her image, her popularity, her wealth. She started to neglect him, to cheat on him, to lie to him. She became addicted to drugs, to alcohol, to gambling. She became a different person, a person he didn't recognize, a person he …

dread.

ziamaiko Jan. 12, 2024, 5:22 p.m.

he was a ruthless killer. a killer who kills others without touching them. he manipulated them.
he was walking on the roof of the tallest building in new York with his college friend.
«you're too smart you know? it's scary.» his friend said while laughing.
his eyes were cold as ice. he is scary indeed. he's too pretty to be scary. and it made him even more scarier.
his friends sigh. «ah.. i don't know if now is the time to say it or not. but i went to church every day and prayed. i talked to the priests. god, how can i forget my sins?»
«how weak the mind is when it wants to forget. it will never forget. maybe you just want to lie. lie to everyone around. lit to yourself.»
his friend eyes widened. he's standing right in front of him. and he's.. not like usual.
«i.. i just want my sins-»
«do you …