Prompt: “Why is there a drunk man sleeping in the bath tub?”
“What are you? Sixteen, getting smashed at parties and trashing the place when your parents – or your WIFE for that matter – is gone?”
“Well, honey, actu-”
“Don’t you dare ‘actually’ me. WHO. IS. THIS.”
“Well, first of all, there was no party. And second, he’s not some passed-out-drunk.”
“Then who-”
“To be quite frank, he’s, er, well, he’s dead.”
“What now?”
“Dead.”
“Are you serious?”
“Dead serious.”
“You think that’s funny? Why, for God’s sake, is there a dead man in the bath tub?”
“That, my dear, is a story for another day.”
The word “drabble” originated from a Monty Python game and was later adopted by the Birmingham University Science Fiction Society to define a short work of fiction that consists of exactly 100 words, no more, no less. It’s a form of microfiction that emphasizes brevity and conciseness. The challenge lies in telling a complete story within this strict word limit, requiring writers to be very deliberate with their word choices.