The sunk draft — a room for one change

Original flash fiction · Invented characters · Decisions with a return path

On the last page of a borrowed notebook, Theo found a fictional scene described in one sentence: “A draft is kept only because many hours were spent on it.” It sounded oddly familiar.

The previous owner had left a reply in a different colour: “Compare its current usefulness with the work still required.” Theo wondered whether advice could wait patiently for the right reader.

The borrowed notebook was returned with an extra line. Advice had become correspondence, though the two writers never met.