Janet Flash: Skipping Time

by Michael Seese

To honor the eponymous birthday of one of her loyal "reiders," Steve Forti, Janet Reid offered up the "Is That Steve Forti I See Over The Hill Flash Fiction Contest," using the words:

 

Fort
Sort
Tort
Wort
Yurt

We also had to begin with the phrase (no word penalty) "Happy Birthday Steve Forti you word wrangler you." 

The idea came to me pretty quickly, and everything, save for "sort" just fell into place. And so I share with you, "Skipping Time."

"What happened?" asks the old man.
 

One minute I'm playing in sofa-cushion forts. The next I'm plying assorted civil torts.
 

One minute I'm getting under girl's skirts. The next I'm fretting over my net worth.
 

One minute, I'm a hip rock-and-roll singer. The next, shaky hands slip a ring on her finger.
 

One minute I'm scolded for running wild. The next I'm holding my child.
 

One minute I'm meditating in a yurt, alone. The next I'm evaluating nursing homes.
 

Someone I don't recognize stares back from the mirror.
The boy in the fort whispers, "I wish I were still here."

I'm pretty proud of it. And, not to get ahead of myself, but two of my previous winners followed that same format of...skipping-ahead linear progression, I suppose. We'll see in a day or so whether Janet liked it.