The story of the week for September 19 to 23 is…
Written in the Stars by Sam Hall
All posts by Tim
LING CHIEHYUN: Playmate
They climb trees, catch butterflies, and chase each other among flowers. They are one minute on a cliff, the next above a brook.
It is a world without pain.
So when she holds out her hand, he takes it. The heart-broken calling from behind trails off, no longer bothering him.
Ling Chiehyun, an ESL teacher in Taiwan, is bewitched by the charm of stories, dreams to work in this world of unlimited imagination.
EDDIE D MOORE: Zucchini Casserole
After inhaling the last few bites on his plate, Mike asked, “Where did you get this casserole recipe?”
“It’s one of Sarah’s from the office.”
“That’s from her zucchini cookbook. I thought your wife was deathly allergic?”
Jeff sighed. “Apparently she lied. I’ve been feeding it to her for weeks.”
When Eddie D. Moore isn’t playing with his grandchildren, he is driving and visiting strange new worlds via audiobooks, or he is lost in his imagination writing his own tales.
CHRISTINA NORDLANDER: The Newsong
The Invasion barely touched us. The Watchers kept to their spires.
Then I started hearing a wailing: fleshy, tinnitic. It mingled with my friends’ voices, until I couldn’t separate them.
Finally, I saw a doctor.
“Have you heard it?” I asked.
“No. Since the angels landed, I’ve heard their song.”
Christina Nordlander is a Swede married to an Englishman outside Birmingham, though she hopes they will both be out of there someday. Most of her writing rests on the speculative spectrum. Visit her Patreon and her Simily.
MATTHEW BLAIN-HARTUNG: Aphrodite’s Child
Aphrodite’s child lingered beside the bed. Tiny hands hovered above the duvet, feather soft fingers not quite daring to descend.
Then the autumn wind lashed at my sun kissed skin, icy tendrils raking at summer eyes. And she was gone, taking with her honey drenched nothings and love’s fickle season.
Matthew Blain-Hartung is a biochemist and molecular biologist currently residing in Berlin. When not writing scientific manuscripts, he is polishing off his latest novel, The Memory Mule, or experimenting with the shorter formats: recently, he has had two shorts accepted for publication, due out in September and October.
KATLA WATERSIN: The Day the Humans are Gone
I race through dewy forest, scenting the excitement of my wolf pack at my hocks.
Slowing to a halt, I fling back my head and howl long and low to the sky. My packmates’ voices join mine, wild howls unheard by humans: This world is ours again, ours again, ours…
Katla Watersin writes fantasy stories. She enjoys sunsets, nature walks, and music.
JOHN VILLAN: That Week
I’d meant to call that week, but had little to say. How’s the knitting? Having good weather? Just working, mostly, everything’s fine. Nothing much interesting, I’m sorry. Still, so nice to hear your voice. They say she was gone before she hit the floor. That week, I’d meant to call.
John Villan is a writer of fiction and poetry. He has lived and traveled throughout much of the continental United States and has an avid interest in American history, with a special focus on colonial era history. He lives in northern Arkansas along with his wife and their three dogs. See more at johnvillan.com.
SJ HUNT: Treasure Chest
I hate breaking the lock, since the chest belonged to him. There is no other way in.
With a screwdriver, I snap the latch, now forever broken on the floor.
Inside are just old magazines. Moved from house to house for forty years, for a reason I will never know.
SJ Hunt is from flyover country in the United States. She is an archaeologist, and will never understand how she gets payed to play in the dirt. Sometimes she writes stuff, and takes blurry photos.
LISA CHAMBERS: A Rough Day
On the links, Bernie wasn’t feeling quite up to par. Was it a stroke? Too many irons in the fire?
It teed him off to leave the game, but the discomfort was off-putting. Thankfully, his doctor diagnosed harmless palpitations.
Nevertheless, no one begrudged Bernie putting his heart before the course.
Lisa Chambers is a Texas writer always honored to be featured here.
STORY OF THE MONTH: August 2022
The Story of the Month is chosen from the Story of the Week winners announced from the past month.
The finalists for August were:
Baggage by Amy Turner
The Enormity of Small Things by Jennifer L. Freed
Life Outside Boxes by Toshihisa Nikaido
Dreams in a College Town by Will Tschirhart
Fingers and Toes by Anneliese A. Boyd
The winner of the August 2022 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…
The Enormity of Small Things