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Blue Whale Hits Town

by Krishan Coupland

Flash Fiction Amusing, Weird

At night, the blue whale swims. His tail flicks the air and he floats like a balloon. Graceless, bumping, he makes his way through the gallery. Squeezes between pillars. Nudges through doorways. Pops explosively through a half-open skylight. Out, finally, he heaves a deep breath of rain-wet air. Freedom. Where to tonight?

He floats from bar to bar. He always gets a lot of attention. People want to stroke his flank. Want to see him jet water into the air like a fountain. Want to pose with him for a picture. A few beers down and he’s all too happy to oblige. New friends, he thinks… except none of them linger. They make excuses. Nobody wants to dance. Nobody wants to go swimming. When he suggests a trip to the beach everyone suddenly takes an interest in their phones.

Late at night, he wobbles homewards. The tube is empty, and he takes an entire carriage for himself. Gets stuck in the barriers. As he wanders the last few steps back towards the museum he pauses for a moment. Scents the air. His head is spinning and he needs to lie down. Very faintly, he’s sure, he can just about smell the ocean.

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About Krishan Coupland

Krishan is on the Creative Writing PhD programme at the University of East Anglia. His writing has appeared in Ambit, Aesthetica, Litro and Fractured West. He won the Manchester Fiction Prize in 2011, and in his spare time he runs and edits a literary magazine.
Visit Krishan Coupland on the web

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Everyone at The Casket is hoping 2021 will be a better year than 2020.  We have some great short stories and flash fiction lined up for your delight.  We kick of the year with a story by Lydia Unsworth “The Smallest Boxes” and then for Valentine's we have a story by Dylan Brethour which will also be available as a podcast. Later in the summer we have a new Flash Fiction Summer Collection which will be published online and as podcasts read by Menna Bonsels and Richard Hodder.  We hope you enjoy the stories we have for you and look forward to welcoming you back regularly.

Joanna & The Casket of Fictional Delights Team

 

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Prefer to listen? - from the beginning The Casket of Fictional Delights has specialised in producing high quality podcasts of short stories and flash fiction compilations. The podcasts are recorded by actors and voiceover artists and produced by a professional studio manager ensuring we maintain a consistent high standard. I’ve chosen three to highlight the variety and quality of work we have to offer - visit our Podcast page for more. I hope you enjoy listening to them.

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Text & stories © Joanna Sterling 2021
Stories © various authors
Audio by Menna Bonsels
Brooch photography by Mark Colliton
Other photography by Rosie Marks
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