The attractive pattern — a room for one change

Original flash fiction · Invented characters · Observation before explanation

The room was quiet enough to hear a pencil roll. Remy picked it up and wrote: “Three similar events tempt someone to announce a rule.” The words made an untidy feeling visible.

Beside the description, Remy wrote an alternative: “Describe the small sample and look for a counterexample.” The two sentences looked almost too small to change an afternoon.

They did not change everything. The pencil stayed on the table beside a piece of work that could now move.