1000 Words or Less

  He was the third child in the family and the first boy, so he was named Colin for his grandfather who had arrived from England in 1876.   Grandfather Colin hadn’t travelled far from the wharf where he landed, settling in Woolloomooloo, where his descendants still lived.   At that time, Woolloomooloo was a run-down, rather seedy home for petty thieves, con-men and others struggling to get by on the wrong side of the law. Nowadays, of course, Woolloomooloo is one of the most prestigious addresses in Australia’s largest city.   The Finger Wharf, near where Colin’s grandfather landed, is now the site of luxury apartments available only to the most wealthy.   The Victorian cottages, once dirty and rat-infested, have been renovated and now house young, upwardly-mobile professionals who work in the city. By the 1920s, when Colin was born, Woolloomooloo was still regarded as a working class area, home to the dockers and wharf labourers who toiled around the Sydney...

  Bianca was the only person she knew who had that name and she never understood what her mother was thinking when she decided to inflict her only daughter with such an unusual appellation.   It was unlikely her mother had read it because she couldn’t read so she must have overheard it somewhere.   It may have been part of some obscure hope that people with influence might be impressed with the name and give Bianca special attention. One never knew with Bianca’s mother; she may have lacked education but she was cunning and was forever thinking of ways that her daughter could have more opportunities than she, herself, had enjoyed.   Throughout her young life, Bianca had been warned again and again.   “Don’t go into service.   Whatever happens, don’t become a servant in a big house.” Bianca never went to school because her family would have been expected to pay a shilling a week for the privilege, and there was never a shilling to spare for such frivolity...

  Archie's parents didn't believe in pushing their children and Archie, who was naturally lazy, soon learned he could take advantage of their good nature by avoiding any effort.   He had no chores to do at home and side-stepped any pressures at school so when his time in education came to an end and he needed to get a job, he really didn't have any of the skills he would need to make his way in the world.   It was 1939 and more and more men were enlisting in the Army.   The demand for workers was so strong that even Archie, well-known in the town for his laziness, was offered a job by the local baker.   Perhaps the fact that the baker was a drunk and had the reputation of not paying his workers would have meant that no one else in the town would work for him.   To his surprise, Archie enjoyed the work, had no trouble getting up in the morning and, within weeks, had been given the keys to the bakery and the responsibility of opening up the premises and p...

 The purpose of this blog is to gather short stories of 1000 words or less.  This is a recognised genre and is often called 'flash fiction'.  Most of the stories will be mine but when I find an interesting story by someone else, I'll include it.  The title of my first story begins with the letter A, the second with B, and so on.