Fandango’s Flashback Challenge asked us to post something we had written on February 11th.

I had a few things to chose from but I went with this story because it’s about 2 people trapped in one moment of time- so it fits the flashback challenge perfectly.

11:59

First Published on

February 11, 2021

” What do you think the end of the world is supposed to look like? ”

They were two strangers waiting for the noon day bus and it was better, they both silently agreed , to say something to drown out  the roaring  of the dark and heavy silence around them.

One commuter was carrying a pink backpack and the other wore eye  glasses with tortoise shell frames  that sat crooked on her nose.

Behind them was a diner, an empty deserted diner with one table  leaning against the far wall, a counter top minus it’s top and an ice cream machine covered with plaster and mold.

The woman with the backpack  turned and looked at her fellow traveler and shrugged.

” Go on, take a guess”

” I suppose the sky would  be red.”

They  looked into the diner.

” Did you ever eat there? ”

” I did, a long time ago. ” Said the woman with the glasses, not only were they crooked one of the lenses was cracked and the other was missing.

” Was the food any good?”

” No. But the ice cream was.  They served it in little cones. I wonder why they served it in those little cones that?”

They both turned away from the diner and looked up and down the empty street for their bus and they did not wonder if it was running late or if it would be on time or exactly how long they had been waiting for it.

The woman in the glasses looked up into the sky. ” I was sure,  you know,  that the sky would be red.”