It was a brisk winter evening and a deep auburn glow welled up behind the mountains in the distance where the sun sank below the horizon. There was a light snow,

He still had time. The assembly would not convene for some hours yet, Ethan reassured himself. Master had given him ample time to complete all of his tasks. “He always does,” Ethan remarked, to himself and no one but the passing countryside.

Don’t got a lot of time left, so I’ll make this quick. Gotta say something though. Somebody’ll miss me sooner or later and go looking, and if they look in the right place—this is my goodbye, I guess.

Silence and Starsong presents the winning story for its November 2022 Flash Fiction Contest, “A Fast and a Feast” by …