By Jude Higgins
Other kids had Robot-Mom caretakers, but my mom was a human from Planet Earth and liked being tickled. She said if you giggle when someone tickles you, then you know you are not a machine. In the golden times, before they took her away to robotomise her, we tickled each other all over and we laughed and laughed.
“If they come for you, with their tickling sticks, hold your breath and don’t make a sound,” she said. Sometimes, in bed, I tickle my own feet to try and remember us laughing together. But it makes me cry.
Jude Higgins’ flashfiction chapbook The Chemist’s House was published by V.Press in 2017. She has been widely published in magazines and anthologies. Jude is the founder of Bath Flash Fiction Award, and directs Flash Fiction Festivals U.K. and the short short fiction press, Ad Hoc Fiction. @judehwriter. judehiggins.com.
MoonPark Review 