Urban Volcano

Fiction by Börkur Sigurbjörnsson

Flash fiction

Playtime

I stacked plastic cups into a house-of-cards-like structure, punctured one cup with a hole punch, chained a few rubber bands together, threaded them through the holes and strapped the cup on my head like a cowboy hat. I looked at myself in the mirror, winked, shot my own reflection with the index finger and blew away the smoke. I was on fire.

Playtime — Illustration by Börkur Sigurbjörnsson
Illustration by Börkur Sigurbjörnsson

I grabbed the rest of the rubber bands, took five steps away from the desk and started to shoot my ammunition at the stack of cups. I loved having my own private office. It was so much fun to be able to close the door and fool around when no one could see.

I had almost shot down all the cups when my play was interrupted by the intercom.

“Yes!” I said in the harsh voice I always use when I don’t want to be disturbed.

“Mr. Prime Minister,” said the intercom. “The Queen is on the line. She says it’s urgent.”

“I see,” I sighed, pausing for a moment. “Ok, I’ll take it.”

The flash fiction story Playtime is part of the flash fiction collection Flash 52.

Börkur is an avid storyteller with a keen eye for quirky characters, funny dialogs and vivid scenario descriptions. Much of his writing falls within the genre of realistic fiction and his stories are more often than not based on real events in the author’s life. Although the tales contain grains of truth, they are melded with fiction, making the reader curious to know the line between reality and fantasy.