For this month's contest, I want you to take a clichéd story opener and include it within the first line of your piece. Examples of such clichéd story openers include:

"It was a dark and stormy night..."

"When she/he got out of bed that morning, she/he had no idea that the events of the next twenty-four hours would change her/his life..."

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine..."


Here are your complete instructions:

Compose a flash fiction piece of 300 - 1,000 words in length. The piece must adhere to the characteristics of flash fiction -- you must have a protagonist and a conflict, although whether or not this conflict is resolved is up to you. Remember: your last and most important rule is that it must be inspired by a clichéd story opener that begins your story. Use that clichéd line to create a wonderfully original story!

You have until September 30th to enter. Write your entry as you would any other story on Protagonize, and then come back here and provide the link in a comment so that we can read it.

I will be announcing the winner on October 1st. Good luck! :D