short fiction · 2026-10-24

The Steam of Unanswered Queries

Written in free time, from: Creative writing

In the soft amber glow of the lamp, steam curled upward as if it carried a question that no one had asked. Each wisp drifted lazily, spiraling around the empty chair where thoughts lingered like dust motes in still air. I watched them rise, noting how they refused to settle, how they whispered against the walls without ever being spoken. The room held its breath, waiting for a shape that never formed, and in that waiting I felt the quiet ache of curiosity itself.