Details About a Purse that Occupy the Mind as we Wait for a Prognosis

By Laurie Marshall

What matters is not so much the size, but the shape and material it’s made of. A square, hard-sided bag will hold a precise number of items with no room for last minute additions. A small package of tissues might gain access, but why weren’t they the first thing in? The rest – lipstick, lotion, gum and mints (yes, both) wallet, keys, phone charger, Tylenol, list of prescriptions, pens, reading glasses, and the watch she wears even though the time is right there on her phone – none of these will matter on the day you carry your mother’s purse for her.


This story won second prize in the February 2021 Micro Fiction Competition.

About the author: Laurie Marshall is a freelance writer and collage artist in northwest Arkansas. Her flash fiction has appeared or is forthcoming at Paragraph Planet, Janus Literary and eMerge Magazine, and will be included in the 2021 anthology from Two Sisters Writing & Publishing. She shares her space and heart with her husband, teenage son, too many pets, and not enough houseplants. www.SeeLaurieWrite.com @LaurieMMarshall on Twitter