The Man They Never Knew

Flash fiction

Photo by Jakub Sisulak on Unsplash

I pulled “The Man They Never Knew” from the archives. It was originally published on April 4, 2022.

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The motorcyclist slammed into the broad side of a car as it cut out in front of him at the awkward intersection north of town. Man and machine toppled end over end until they both came to a halt—the man perfectly symmetrical down the centerline and the twisted mass of metal in the ditch.

The motorcycle exploded. Everything in a twenty-foot radius caught fire—the ditch, the brush, the embankment that led to the hillside and a thick density of trees. The man lay motionless, facedown, a short distance away. A gust in the right direction could push the fire his way.

Before long, dozens of cars lined the highway, and more than half of them had pulled off to the side of the road.

People ran toward the scene without hesitation: a pair of contractors covered in drywall dust, a local teacher named Ms. Linn, a man in a suit, the owner of an automotive store, and half a dozen medical professionals—by the grace of some higher power.

Two women in high heels darted from the Tesla they’d carpooled in, both holding fire extinguishers. When they arrived near the blaze, they attacked it immediately, fighting the unwieldy flames back and back.

A man in scuffed-up jeans and a flannel halted the traffic on both sides and yelled at the lone idiot who tried to drive through the scene.

“What’s the matter with you?” the man yelled at the driver as the car scraped over something it shouldn’t have. The piece rattled underneath until it dislodged.

An emergency room doctor took the lead with the half-broken man, calling the shots until the paramedics arrived.

When it was all said and done, the people continued on their way—their destinations seemingly less important. The two women who fought back the flames were treated on the scene for minor burns and blisters around their ankles and on their shins.

They wore those marks for a few weeks, most days sharing glasses of wine after work as they talked about what compelled them to do it—what possessed them to jump into action the way they did.

Was it human instinct? Divine intervention? Realizing one of their husbands had purchased two fire extinguishers from the hardware store weeks ago and kept forgetting to bring them inside?

When they learned the motorcyclist died from his injuries, they cried with one another in the back corner of the wine bar.

“Maybe we needed to be there for some reason. To see that…and do what we did.”

“What do you mean?”

But neither of them could come up with a definitive answer. The question would forever remain in that space, trapped like a lost soul.

They choked back tears—all for a man they never knew.

Thanks so much for reading “The Man They Never Knew” today. If you enjoyed it, please consider clicking the tiny heart icon or sharing it with a fellow fiction reader.

I’m pleased to announce that Fifties by the Fire will return on Friday, April 4th at 3:00 PM. Below is a preview of the prompt. As usual, the prompt will go live at the aforementioned time. It would be wonderful if you decide to stop by to read and write some fifty-word stories.

Special thanks to

John Lightle

for providing the photo and prompt idea.

“Let’s Get Past This First” by John Lightle

Prompt: Write a fifty-word story (fiction, poetry, or CNF) that somehow connects to the following line: let’s get past this first.

Have a great week, and I hope to see you “by the fire” on Friday!

- Justin