Tony Wittinger
Flash Fiction

Ultraviolet

by Tony Wittinger

97 wordsJune 15, 2026

Flash word target: 100 Random word: Shadow Required sentence: "The past clung to him like a second skin."

Anya stared, dumbfounded, at Han. Through the thin clear crystalline screen. Shimmering, rippling distortion like heatwaves radiating from hot tarmac. Seeing him, his normal outline and shape, but his shadow was full of history. Making it clear that the past clung to him like a second skin.

Anya knew they got the experiment right. Vision in ultraviolet. Her sight exploded, iridescence, vibrance, everything she expected, except.

His shadow draped like a wet blanket, the defection, hard labor camp, all his memories uncovered, right in ultraviolet sight.

Anya shuddered, realizing Han could see her past, her privilege, judging and hating her.