The story of the week for September 8 to 12 is…
Hands of Time by Katie Hemmerlin
and
Showtime by John Singh
All posts by Tim
MIKE KEYSER: Distant Ember
He, born to dirt, smoke, and blood-stained rocks, watched his clan diminish in this harsh environment.
Now alone, longing to share his fire, he searched empty horizons.
His journey is inscribed in etchings and ochre on cave walls.
The Neanderthal’s light dimmed, never knowing his distant spark would reach us.
Mike (and his 3.2% Neanderthal DNA) uses speculative fiction to explore the boundaries between what was, what is, and what could be.
KATIE HEMMERLIN: Hands of Time
I don’t remember the first hands that held me as I entered this world, vulnerable and mewling. I won’t remember the last hands that cling to me as I leave this life, helpless and silent. This is half my story. In the end, I hope they aren’t the same hands.
Katie lives on a farm in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. Lately, she and her husband have been embracing the hint of early autumn air and exploring the creative side of writing. In addition to 50-Word Stories, her microfiction was recently featured in Short Beasts Flash Fiction and is forthcoming on 101 Words.
RA BURLINGHAM: First Date
First dates are tough. He hated it took so long, but war has its own rules. Her eyes were so blue. Her hair like a spider’s web, but golden like hay. Face time was so distant. Finally, holding her tight. She felt so right. This would be forever. “Hello, daughter.”
R.A. Burlingham has been writing everything from advertising copy to screenplays for over 40 years. He is a filmmaker, digital media and social studies teacher and editor of the book, Worlds Beyond My Window: The Life and Works of Gertrude McCarty Smith.
JOHN SINGH: Showtime
Dwindling light shimmers, bounces, dances through the golden-hued auditorium. Take your seat! Trillions of photons shriek with joy — and are extinguished. Towering curtains glide open, revealing the giant screen. From overhead, a brilliant light beam pierces the darkness one last time. Enjoy the show! Tomorrow, the cinema closes forever. Streaming.
John Singh has had a long career in publicity and communications for the entertainment industry. Lately, he has turned his attention to other pursuits, like writing fiction. It seems tolerated, sometimes even appreciated, by his husband Jeff and their dog Walter. Some of his work can be found at www.jswrites.com.
SETH ROSENMAN: Secret
He buckles her into her car seat. “Be right back,” he says.
Leaving the door open, he returns the cart to a nearby stall.
He turns and sees a strange woman talking to her. He shouts, and she quickly walks away. He runs back.
“I can’t tell you,” she says.
Seth Rosenman is currently writing a list of different ways to say “I told you so.” His poems and short fiction have appeared in 50-Word Stories, Microfiction Monday Magazine, The Bookends Review, and elsewhere. His blog goes by infiniteseth.blogspot.com.
BOB THURBER: A Haunting Story
Sometimes, when nobody’s around, I practice being a ghost in my own home. I drift through darkened rooms, scouting for good places to suddenly appear. I map corners from which to spy, measure shadows and rehearse my creep, always on the lookout for things that eerily rattle and shockingly thump.
Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.
JS O’KEEFE: Geography
They told me the vizsla puppy I got for Christmas is a breed originating from a particular region. After spending the entire morning perusing the globe in vain, I called the Center For Allowed Information.
“Don’t let that bother you,” they said. “Maps are being redrawn almost continuously these days.”
J.S. O’Keefe has published over three hundred short stories and poems in print and online literary magazines. See more at his website: szjohnny.net.
JOANNA NORLAND: A Curious Tale
A young question mark stretches, re-curls his crook and sets off to find The Answer.
Rushing past commas, (swerving around parentheticals) – dashing past hyphens – he skids at last to a full stop.
“I’ve finally reached the point!” he exults.
But then, he spots another. And a third… leading… elliptically… onwards…
Joanna Norland is a playwright and writing coach who loves the fifty word format as a testing ground for new ideas. The creativity and craft of her fellow contributors are a perennial inspiration and spur.
MADDY YARDUMIAN: Back-to-School Blues
I always loved school. I loved the neatness of it—desks of all the same size, classroom decorations that mirrored the seasons. I loved my teachers, how sure they seemed in their patterned skirts. Now, every September, I feel like I’m forgetting something. I wonder if I learned anything at all.
Maddy Yardumian is a fiction writer and poet living in Boston, currently at work on their first novel. When she’s not writing (or procrastinating writing), you’ll likely find her frequenting the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, drinking matcha, or listening to Chappell Roan.