So this post is an exercise in response to Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge.

I have been wanting to take up writing challenges like this again, and now I have some time to do it. This challenge involves writing a flash piece (usually under 250 -300 words) inspired by a picture. Here is this week’s photo.

To read all the other submissions click on the underlined link above.

Here is my attempt:

The Bulletin Doorway

For the last week Tom had been drawn to the bulletin board just outside his physics classroom. It started as a tickle in the pit of his stomach on Monday. By Tuesday he was almost forced to stop and gaze at each of the pages stuck helter-skelter across the surface of the board. Wednesday and Thursday the the bulletin board danced through his dreams. With each dream Tom awoke in a cold sweat with the “@” sign strangely burned into his mind’s eye.

Friday came. Tom had all he could do to sit through physics class. When at last the bell rang Tom nearly knocked a girl in a green snow hat over as he barreled through the door to gaze, once again, at the bulletin board. Students jostled him as the mad rush to get to final period came and went.

The last bell rang. The hall grew quiet and then Tom saw the “@” sign stamped at the top of three bulletins tacked to the board. Each bulletin had two words on it. Tom read them aloud in order as he somehow knew he should.

“Now the… Visionary says…Be opened!”

The girl in the green hat whom he had nearly stomped in physics class stood beside him.

“I’ve been waiting for you to figure it out all week. You are the slowest visionary I have ever walked with.” She said.

Then she took his hand and the door opened before them. Without another question Tom stepped through and was gone.