Round closed

Closed Thursday, July 2 at 6:59 AM UTC

The prompt

The thing on the counter

There's something on the counter that shouldn't be there. Write the scene.

It can be mundane or strange. Focus on what the object tells us about the person who left it there.

75–500 words


bobnease

What I was going for:

Sparse and economical. Unresolved. Dialog and action do the heavy lifting.

His business card, a crisp twenty, and a cigarette burn from the previous tenant lined up on the laminate countertop. She looked at the bill. "Hello, Andrew Jackson," she said. She flipped the card over: Call me. If he'd added a question mark, she might have. Or even an exclamation point. It was the period that got her. She held the bill for a little while before ripping it in half. The baby started crying. She tried to recall where she'd put the Scotch tape.

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