Daily Flash Fiction Challenge

Mark Wilson, seasoned lawyer and part-time therapist to his clients, sat in his office, sipping lukewarm coffee and regretting every career decision that led him here.

Linda buzzed in through the intercom. “Mark… she’s back.”

Mark closed his eyes. “Anna Hanson?”

“Yep. And she brought… props.”

Mark muttered, “Here we go again,” and braced himself.

In stormed Anna Hanson—ex-theatre teacher turned serial litigant. She wore a cape. Why? No one knew. She carried a large poster board titled: “My Neighbor is a Time Traveler and a Nuisance.”

“Mark!” she said, with Broadway flair. “We have a situation. Harold from apartment 3B is obviously manipulating the space-time continuum to steal my Amazon packages before they arrive.”

Mark blinked. “Anna, we’ve discussed this. Last month it was ‘Harold is a lizard wearing human skin.’ Before that, he was ‘a Russian mime spy.’”

She tapped her poster. “Evidence!” she declared, revealing blurry screenshots of Harold taking out his recycling. “Look at that! Who recycles on a Wednesday, Mark?”

“People with normal lives?”

“Exactly!” she said, pointing triumphantly.

Mark sighed, stood, and walked to the window. He had handled arsonists, embezzlers, and once, a man who tried to sue gravity. But Anna Hanson was in a league of her own.

“Anna,” he said gently, “you can’t file a restraining order based on alleged time travel.”

“But—”

“No. And no more fake subpoenas. The judge is still mad about the glitter bomb envelope.”

She huffed. “Fine. But don’t come crying to me when the space-time vortex opens over Harold’s mailbox.”

She twirled out dramatically. The cape snagged on the doorknob. She wrestled it free with a grunt and left.

Linda poked her head in. “Your 10 a.m. is here. Wants to sue his barista for emotional damage.”

Mark sighed. “Here we go again.”