#MicroFiction

There were days when holding her hair back as she cried felt like his only purpose. But even that was worth it.

Troublemakers

Born to a rather precocious couple, the little firestarters were a refreshing change to their tiny grey neighbourhood. They added freshness with a flourish; in their short days, the lawns were filled with little pools and bubbling puddles of swirling fire. And their parents ran chasing the dancing flames with a bag of sand; even as those orange tongues got more and more zealous, licking and devouring the acres. Those were the days when living was easy and fun dirt cheap. Of course, those were the days before they'd invented fire extinguishers.

Sea change

For months on end, he carried the tail-end of their broken relationship around with him, he nursed it like a feverish crying child. He held on to it; in the bitter cold of his lonely nights, he rocked it to sleep and it took him to bed, too. Yet, she was dispassionate, the bell had begun to toll. Finally, one autumn night, she vanished at the stroke of midnight. He awoke to find their puppy missing too. But she hadn't taken the little dog, he'd merely followed her through the open door.

Please. Mind. The Gap

In the midst of the city's ferocious rush hour, she was rushing to take the train. She moved so fast that faces were a blur and time stopped to watch the frill of her skirt  as she passed. In that flashing whirl of sound and light, that's when she saw him. In the split second that it would have taken her to board the train, she whipped around and saw him; then she wish she hadn't. 'But that's impossible', she though; the shuffling crowd joslted for space and shoved her aside. Within an instant, her skin froze and breathing became a herculean task. In a daze, she stepped away from the train and moved towards the child; his tiny face was a mess of tears, her mind was numb. The train had begun to move, but she didn't notice.

"How did you get here?", she questioned, holding his hand.
To which the crying child responded, "I'm sorry Mommy, I forgot to close the cosmic wormhole."