What if your freedom depended on choosing the right cup of tea—one sip to live, the other to die?
⚡ Grab Hold First Line
The guard slid two steaming cups across the table, his smile as thin as the blade at his hip.
✍️ Flash Fiction Prompt (190 words)
The prisoner’s wrists were raw from chains, but his mind was razor sharp. The room smelled faintly of jasmine, yet underneath it lurked the acrid sting of fear. Two cups of tea sat before him—identical in color, identical in steam, but only one held life. The other, death. The rules were simple: drink the wrong one and collapse into silence; drink the right one and walk away free.
But choice is never simple when both options look the same. He thought of his family, of laughter in better days, of promises whispered in the dark. Was freedom worth the gamble? Or was it better to die quickly than live haunted by the knowledge he chose blindly?
The guard tapped the table impatiently. “Choose.”
His trembling hand reached out, hovered above the cups, and then—
❓ Three Questions for Writers
- What memories or instincts drive your prisoner toward his choice?
- How do you create unbearable tension in the final seconds before the cup touches his lips?
- Does your story end in death, freedom, or a darker twist?