Everything that happens to us in our lives is the result of everything else that's happened to us in our lives. At any given moment, how you act and the choices you make are a keyhole view into all of the actions and choices of your past.

And that's what I want this week. Keyhole views. You, dear writers, need to get to know a character in your head, then portray that character in a mundane situation that gives us some perspective on who they are. Maybe it's a sad clown, sans makeup, riding an airplane full of screaming kids. Maybe it's an exultant young lawyer-to-be who's just passed the bar exam who overhears a cynical judge talking in a bar. Et cetera.

This is pretty open-ended, so here is what I'll be judging closest:

*Dialog. Make it meaningful.
*Economy of words. No fluff. Every sentence should do something.
*Depth of characterization. Don't just tell me about your dude, put yourself in their shoes and empathize with them.
*Heavy-handedness (or lack thereof). It's ok to tell us they're a clown or a lawyer or whatever, but the point of this prompt is to make me understand them through their actions and reactions throughout your story.
*Meaning. This is flash fiction so we can only be so poignant, but try to infuse at least some modicum of understanding of the human condition into your story.

Try to steer clear of scifi/fantasy, if only because I've noticed that those genres force you to pad out your word count with description of the setting, and that's not really what this week is about. I won't absolutely disallow it, but keep that in mind.

Some of you are going to be compelled to describe, in detail, your character's morning routine, starting from when they wake up. Don't do that.

Ok, go. That's all you get. Do with it what you will.