Flash Fiction – is a piece of writing that focuses around a given topic and contains 5 to 1500 words. I participated in Writer’s Digest’s Flash Fiction Challenge in 2021. To introduce you to my writing style I will be featuring a new flash fiction every month. Some turned out funny, poignant, sad, happy, mythical or scary. The topic for this months flash fiction was to take something usual and have it do something unusual. Please enjoy this month’s flash fiction which I have titled “Coincidence or Not”

 “Coincidence or Not”
Paula stood in front of her bureau and ran her fingers through her hair. “What to wear, what to wear,” she mumbled.

After deciding on a blue skirt and white blouse, she opened the dresser drawer and discovered that she needed to take the time to put a load of delicates into the washing machine before she left the house.

Once dressed, she walked into the bathroom and collected her dirty clothes from the hamper, then carried them to the laundry room. When she opened the lid to the washing machine, she spotted something sticking out underneath the agitator. She tucked the clothes under her right arm and dislodged a dime from the machine.

“Huh,” was all she said, placing it in her skirt pocket. Once the load was started, she stepped into the kitchen to pack her lunch then headed out the door to work.

She opened the car door, climbed in and placed her lunch bag and purse on the passenger seat. As she stuck the key into the ignition, she spotted something shiny resting on the floor in front of the passenger seat. Bending down she picked up another dime and dropped it in the coin holder in the middle console.

When she arrived at work, she headed into the building and walked to the elevators. She pushed the button and stood watching as the numbers headed back down on the digital panel. When the doors opened, she stepped inside and pushed floor number five. Stepping into the middle of the elevator she spotted something on the floor below the emergency phone. Tilting her head to the side she noticed that it was another dime. She squatted and picked it up right before the doors opened. As she stepped off the elevator, she dropped it in her skirt pocket.

“Good Morning!” greeted her secretary as she stepped off the elevator.

“Good Morning, Carla! What’s on our schedule today?” asked Paula.

As Carla filled her in, they strolled leisurely down the hallway to Paula’s office. After she placed her bags beside her desk, Paula headed to the staff lounge to fix herself a mug of hot tea and to put her lunch in the refrigerator.

Stepping back into her office, Paula placed her mug on the coaster on her desk and settled into her chair. She pulled several folders out of her briefcase and placed them on her desk then reached for her tea. She paused with the mug in mid-air, then abruptly placed it back on the coaster.

Nestled close to the coaster she found another dime. She picked it up, leaned back in her chair and rubbed it between her two fingers and thumb.

“Impossible,” she uttered, and placed the dime into her skirt pocket with the other ones.

The morning rolled along smoothly as Paula helped several clients arrange their unforgettable honeymoons or family vacations. She enjoyed helping others develop the perfect getaway. She had planned to travel extensively with her husband, but life had a different journey in mind.

When lunchtime rolled around, she collected her lunch bag and sat on the love seat in her office. She spread the contents on the small coffee table and waited for Carla to join her. They enjoyed each other’s company and chatted, like any other day, over several new prospective vacation destinations; sometimes their best inspirations happened over lunch. At the end of lunch Paula collected her sandwich container and was about to place it back in her bag when she found, to her disbelief, another dime resting in the bottom of her lunch bag.

Picking it up she squinted and looked up at Carla.

“What is it, Paula? You look a little concerned. Is anything wrong?”

“This is the fifth dime I’ve found today. I’m starting to feel like someone is playing a practical joke on me, but I don’t know who.”

The rest of her work day moved along without any more dimes popping up along the way. As Paula started to pack up her bags, she decided she didn’t feel like cooking and ordered Chinese food for dinner. Something she hadn’t enjoyed for ten years. Driving home she pondered the dimes that had appeared throughout the course of the day, but came up with no clear answers.

She pulled in the driveway, collected her belongings and dropped everything onto the bench that sat by her front door. As she slipped her shoes off she watched a dime roll across the tile floor. She hesitated before reaching down to pick it up. After placed it in her skirt pocket with the others, she darted upstairs to change into something more comfortable before the delivery person arrived.

As she started to place her necklace in the tray on her dresser, her hand froze. Hidden amongst the earrings in the tray was another dime. Her heart beat faster and her hands trembled as she plucked it out of the tray. After staring at it briefly she deliberately placed it down on her dresser with a clink.

She backed away and proceeded to change into a pair of sweats and t-shirt. Sticking her hands into her pockets to smooth them out, she almost screamed when her hand felt something round in her left pocket. Grasping it between her fingers she pulled out another dime.

Frantically, she placed it on the dresser next to the other one. Before she had time to theorize any explanation, the doorbell rang. She jogged down the steps and paused at the bench to pull a twenty out of her purse. A young man was standing on the stoop with her order. He handed

her the bag and took her twenty. In return he pressed two dimes into the palm of her hand. Her head was spinning as she closed the door.

“This is just too much,” she yelled to the walls. “Why is this happening?”

She grabbed her cell phone and stared at the date. She hadn’t really paid attention to what day it was; she only knew it was Wednesday. Releasing a shiver, she dropped the two dimes onto the kitchen island. She turned and quickly ran to collect all the other dimes. As she lined them up in a row, she glanced at the dates on each one and arranged them in order. The years spanned from 1995 to 2004, revealing the last ten years she had spent without her husband.

Picking the food bag up she emptied the contents onto the counter. She plucked out the fortune cookie and tore open the wrapper. With her hands shaking she broke open the cookie and unraveled the little piece of paper. Her eyes filled and droplets hit her hands as she stood reading the message over and over.

“Time to live again!”