Janet Flash: Lost

by Michael Seese

The moral of the story this week is always write. A few months back I jotted down 50 or 60 words about a remorseful alcoholic, and kept it in a doc on my tablet called "Flash Ideas." Then along came this week's Janet Reid short story contest. And voilà!

The key words were:

dixie
eleven
lies
home
mom

And I saw immediately how they could fit into the existing story. With that, I give you "Footsteps."


Seven years of the bottle had taken its toll. My nights melted into one continuous blackout. My days, one continuous black. I hear people escape it. The lies. The shame. The regrets.

I won't be one of them.

As I blew out the candles, precariously punched into a lopsided homemade cake, I wished my Dixie cup held something more fortifying than fruit punch.

“How will you celebrate your newfound freedom?” my Mom asked.

“I thought I'd take my shiny new driver's license out for a spin. Drive around a bit. Maybe pop over to the 7-11. They're still open, right?”


Only a LITTLE depressing.

Results (hopefully) tomorrow on Janet's blog.

And as always, please let me know what you think.