By Barb Edler 8 March 2026

Prompt:  write twenty-six sentences, each beginning with a letter of the alphabet, beginning with the letter “A.” Write NO MORE than twenty-six sentences. No less either from The Art of Flash by Kathy Fish.

Sunday’s Drudgery by Barb Edler

An early morning spring day is full of sunshine and worries. Between eight and twelve, she scrubs. Cleans every counter; chases away every germ. Dusting the bookshelves, dusting the side tables, dusting the floors. Everything must be spotless, her mind screams. Furious, she spies another mess. Grinding her teeth, she gathers more dirty clothes. Heaving the last load inside the washer machine, she sags, feeling defeated. Inside her mind, new alarm bells ring. Just before 1 p.m., she slips on a rug, falls head first into a granite counter. Keeling onto the floor, blood rushes from her forehead. Long streams of blood pool on the tiled floor. Moaning, she passes out. No one knows she’s wounded; no one’s there to care. 

Outside the sun still shines. People pass by, happily whistling, enjoying the unexpected warmth. Quietly, the clock ticks. 

Rich, her next door neighbor, knocks on her door. “Susan,” he shouts. “Tell me you’re okay?” 

Unable to receive an answer, he dials 911 on his cell phone. 

Voices shout above her, “Susan? Susan, can you hear me?” Without delay, they carry her away. X-rays are ordered. 

Yawning, she wakes the next day, bewildered by her surroundings.  Zealously, she lifts her pounding head and shrieks when she sees dust motes floating in a shaft of sunlight. 

bluebirds commune,
scrubbing their sins-
Sunday rites