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  • RECTILINEAR by Thomas Elson

RECTILINEAR by Thomas Elson

Posted on April 26, 2020 by adminFA in - 1 Comment
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IMAGINE a dark rectilinear hole. Descending parallel lines. A narrow, vertical tunnel. A cold, wet gust of earthy odor arises, which, as if you needed reminding, tells you precisely where you are.

Imagine a Sunday morning phone call. It’s too early; you let it ring. Over an hour later, you listen to the man’s son on voice mail. We need to talk. Dad’s having trouble breathing. It’s getting bad.

Imagine not returning his call, but going to church, telling no one, driving home, and that evening attending the annual parish dinner.

Imagine his open casket services and looking at the man for whom you would not return a phone call. Imagine the permeating fragrance of the incense. Imagine being a pall bearer and placing that man on straps hung over the rectilinear hole.

Imagine delivering the eulogy his wife had written but was unable to read, then ad libbing a portion of that eulogy. Imagine presenting his family with an oak display case for the burial flag. Imagine talking and joking with his friends during the funeral reception.

Imagine being me, years later, still haunted by that dark rectilinear hole.

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AUTHOR BIO:

Thomas Elson’s short stories, poetry, and flash fiction have been published in numerous venues such as Calliope, Pinyon, Lunaris, New Ulster, Lampeter, Selkie, Pennsylvania Literary Journal, and Adelaide Literary Magazine. He divides his time between Northern California and Western Kansas.

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WHY WE CHOSE TO PUBLISH “Rectilinear”:

Author Thomas Elson’s “Rectilinear” demonstrates what well-done flash fiction can accomplish—in this case in only 190 words.

We are in the narrator’s head from the beginning and held there with strong visuals and the narrator’s emotions. And did you notice the subtlety of the second-person viewpoint? We rarely see second-person stories written in the imperative mood. It’s not easy to pull off, and we salute the author’s writing mastery of it here.

One comment on “RECTILINEAR by Thomas Elson”

  1. David Hartley Mark says:
    May 12, 2020 at 9:31 pm

    I am a rabbi and college English professor who writes stories ranging from bibliodrama to Jewish fantasy to historical fiction.
    I did enjoy “Rectilinear”– I have done many funerals, unfortunately.
    How does one submit to FA?

    Reply

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Current Issue

Issue #30-May 2020

HAPPY EVER AFTER by Ted Macaluso

Escape PROFILE! by Mike Scofield

THE FIGHT by J. B. Toner

RECTILINEAR by Thomas Elson

THE FUNNIEST STORY EVER TOLD by J. Manfred Weichsel

MOMMY DOESN’T UNDERSTAND by Flora Galena

October 2017 marked the five-year anniversary of Fabula Argentea will be 5 years old and to commemorate that, we published a 5th anniversary PRINT anthology with many of our best stories. (Click the cover to purchase on Amazon.com)

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