by Neil Clark

A cleaner at the airport asked what I’d do if I had a time machine. I hadn’t initiated conversation with him. I hadn’t made eye contact. Wasn’t sure he was even talking to me, but nobody else was within an earshot.

“Not sure,” I said. “What would you do?”

“Go to the Big Bang. Douse the thing before it gets out of hand. Be by myself.”

He kept mopping. I flew to a different time zone forever.

Now every time the sky seems to go permanently black, I think about that guy. Lately I’ve been thinking about him a lot.

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Neil Clark is a writer from Edinburgh, Scotland. His flash fiction collection, Time. Wow, is out in summer 2020 from Back Patio Press. Follow him on Twitter @NeilRClark or visit neilclarkwrites.wordpress.com for a full list of publications.