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The Casket of Fictional Delights

Brooches Podcasts Stories

Toothpaste Tubes

by Joanna Sterling

PodcastFlash Fiction Sad, Thought-provoking

I squeeze out the last bit, screw back the top and put the empty tube with the rest in the chest of drawers my parents bought us when we married.

The first one I kept was from the hospital. You hadn’t finished it and nor did I.

I tried a different brand once, but it didn’t taste of you.

Every month I arrange the empty tubes into different patterns. Once, I made a face, it’s eyes stared back at me with tears of discarded toothpaste. Jack says I should toss them all away. He says chuck everything.

Maybe, next month.

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You are listening to
Toothpaste Tubes
by Joanna Sterling

https://thecasket.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Flash-Fiction-Compilation-Two.mp3

Story read by Menna Bonsels for The Casket of Fictional Delights.

About Joanna Sterling

Joanna writes short stories and flash fiction, has had her work published in a number of magazines and anthologies. She lives in London with her ever growing collection of Brooches.

You’ve reached the end of this story. Please do explore further. And if you’re feeling generous today, donate to The Casket and help keep the fictional delights flowing. Want to know when more stories arrive? Make sure you sign up for regular updates.

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The Casket is a platform for new, fresh and enjoyable short reads. We don’t receive any grants and your generosity helps us provide FREE accessible ad-free content. Any donation is hugely appreciated. If you would like to contribute, donate by PayPal by submitting your name and an amount.

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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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Please consider making a donation to The Casket of Fictional Delights.  All content on the website is free and widely available to audiences worldwide.  We do not receive any grants and all our content is Ad free.  The Casket of Fictional Delights specialises in producing high-quality podcasts which are recorded by professional actors/voiceover artists from around the world. We hope you enjoy reading and listening to the stories and finding out about Joanna’s varied brooch collection.

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  • We have had over 90,000 #podcast downloads of our #shortstories and #flashfiction - THANK YOU to all our loyal listeners https://t.co/cn87VLbkVF https://t.co/d4EwrFrB5L, 21 hours ago
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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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