Pen and Portal
Flash fiction
The kid—who was typically enthusiastic, engaged, full of life—sat at his desk, ripping apart a sheet of looseleaf into confetti-sized bits.
“You okay, Sal?” the teacher, Mr. Morrisey, asked. The kids all called him Mr. Mo.
“No,” Sal replied.
“Not going to try the writing prompt today?”
Sal stopped ripping the paper. “I don’t have a pen.”
“Oh,” Mr. Mo replied, voice inflected just right so Sal would inevitably glance up at him. “Well, why didn’t you say so? You want to write with a super cool pen I’ve got?”
Sal sat up a hair straighter. “Sure. I guess.”
Mr. Mo walked to his desk. When he returned, he was clutching a sleek, handcrafted, wooden pen. Both the tip and the click mechanism were metallic.
Tommy, one of Sal’s tablemates, said, “Whoa…is that a golden pen?”
Sabrina turned her head. “No, it’s mahogany.”
Mr. Mo handed Sal the pen, clapped him on the shoulder, and whispered something to the other two. They got back to their writing.
Sal held the writing instrument in wonder before doodling a quick picture of a cyclops. The pen glided over the paper like a fingernail on glass. Perfect. Smooth. By this point, Sal’s tongue was sticking out of the side of his mouth as it often did when he was deep in thought. He made a quick sketch of Medusa next to the cyclops. As long as he didn’t look at her, they’d probably be fast friends.
Mr. Mo gave him a quick look from across the room. A hey, man! I just hooked you up—you better get writing, kind of look, and it made Sal smile.
Sal turned to the screen at the front of the room and read the prompt: Imagine you are walking through the woods and stumble upon a portal. Where does it take you?
Sal brought himself there, saw a whirring, purplish doorway glowing in the near-dark. He stepped toward it.
And then he had an idea.
He put the pen to paper and found himself in a different time and place.
Hey, all. Thanks so much for reading “Pen and Portal” today. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please consider sharing it with a fellow fiction reader.
This is my first-ever narrated work of fiction. I was oddly nervous while reading/recording it, but I imagine it will get easier in time. I want to try to do this for some of my future stories, as well. I appreciate other fiction writers like
and who do this on occasion.Take care. I hope to see you by the fire soon!
- Justin
Portal to mythological characters who are friends as long as one eye stays shut to not be turned to stone. Seeing is only one sense. Trust your instincts. The portal opens a door to seeing golden opportunities; even a collage of confetti can create a story with out words. A magical pen. Should the reader be told what Mr. Mo told them about the pen?
Lovely … the characters all spring off the page, wonderfully drawn. Love the whole scene, gentle, wholesome but oh so meaningful. Wonderful words.