Category Archives: Odd

MIA BAMMANN: Monsters

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, , , ,

My mother says that monsters do not exist.

She claims this with such confidence.

She tucks me into bed and says that there is nothing under my bed or in my closet. But she hasn’t looked.

If she had, she would have found the decaying body of her actual daughter.

Mia Bammann has been writing ever since she could hold a pencil, and even before then, she would tell fantastical stories. She loves reading, singing, drawing, and being creative! She strives to publish a novel sometime in the future as well as graduate college with a degree in elementary education.

ANDREA DAMIC: Fathers and Daughters

Artistic, Odd, Submissions, , , ,

She sees him in the distance, through the morning mist. It is like a punch in the gut that takes her breath away.

Twenty years since she’s moved away.

As she gets closer, his face changes. It isn’t him, but for a split second…

She remembers her eulogy and shudders.

Andrea Damic lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband and a seven-year-old daughter. She is an accountant by profession, but writing was always her first love. The only time she can actually write is at night, when everyone is asleep. She has had a few stories previously published by 50-word stories. She has written two children’s picture books (no publications yet) and is working on a novel as well.

GARY PAUL BALLARD: Capers

Amusing, Odd, Submissions, Top Stories, , , ,

Deciding it was about time he cleaned out the fridge, Dave entered a strange new world. For there among the blue cheese, neglected jar of capers, and sour milk was a tiny civilization. Apologizing profusely, clearly having interrupted some kind of presidential inauguration, he removed himself and closed the door.

Gary Paul Ballard is a writer from North London working in the field of mental health. Although his preference is for flash fiction and he’s drawn to the ridiculous, he has self-published collections of short stories and a novella.

MARGARET MacINNIS: Declaration

Odd, Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

Barn swallows twitter-warble their declarations. From a darkened corner of the hayloft, I hear their bird-love songs, aching for my wife. I can almost feel her warm breath in that space between my neck and shoulder. My heart, kitten-tiny now, thumps rapidly.

I’d give anything to be a man again.

Margaret MacInnis lives, writes, and raises her daughter in Iowa City. Her work has been published widely, most recently in Brevity, Diagram, Ghost Parachute, The Rye Whiskey Review, and Thrush. She is working on a novel and a novella-in-flash, LIFE AS JAKE, MY WIFE’S THREE-LEGGED CAT.

SARAH JACKSON: How Our Local Wine Bar Ended Up on the Ghost Tour

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, , ,

“It was so sudden. I’m still in shock, I think,” he said, resting his hand sadly on the girl’s knee. “Though to be honest we hadn’t been close for a long time.”

“I’m closer than you know,” I hissed, floating beside them, and reached across the table for the bottle.

Sarah Jackson writes gently unsettling stories. She lives in east London UK and has a green tricycle called Ivy. See more at sarahijackson.com/writing.

DAVID RAE: On the wings of love

Artistic, Odd, Submissions, , ,

I watched as a winged angel sailed out into the moonlit sky. I stood there speechless and motionless, one hand still strapped to the bed.

I do not know who brought a coverlet and draped it around my nakedness. No one spoke for a very long time.

She is gone.

David is not sure what love is, but he is always trying to catch it.

LAURIE P MENDOZA: The Nose Knows

Amusing, Odd, Submissions, , , ,

I once dated a man who never smelled. No sour morning breath, no corn-chip feet, no pungent sweat. My nose—less trusting than my heart—sniffed for signs of humanity. But even his gas didn’t provide a whiff. Farts of a hollow man, all sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Laurie P. Mendoza is an elementary school counselor and children’s author who has been published in Spider Magazine. She also dabbles in playwriting, personal essays, and holding a grudge. This is her second story for Fifty-Word Stories.

BIRGIT K GAISER: The Ritual

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, ,

The room was ready for the ceremony, as per the instructions. Damian began chanting and soon felt a powerful presence. He opened his mind, permitting it to enter.

It felt familiar, but strong. Too strong.

Damian’s grandmother looked down at her new, young body and smiled through her grandson’s lips.

Birgit hails from a small German town and lives in Scotland now. She’s been a research scientist, project manager, and scrum master, and loves to escape the real world by reading and writing fantasy, science fiction, horror, and other fiction.

REB ELKIN: The Book You Hold

Artistic, Odd, Submissions, , ,

The book in your hands is an antique. The cover appears featureless at first, but look carefully and you will see some faint markings. A face. Your own, but much older.

Wherever you send the book —a thrift store, the trash— it will always make its way back to you.

Reb Elkin writes science fiction & fantasy. See more at rebelkinwriter.com.

GREG SCHWARTZ: Visitor

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, , ,

Joseph sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. A woman in a nightgown stood at the window, silhouetted by the silver moon. The air around her seemed to shimmer. “Can’t sleep, honey?” Joseph asked. He groped around for his glasses.

“Hmmph?” his wife mumbled, in bed next to him.

Greg Schwartz works in a cubicle and occasionally writes haiku, short fiction, and novelty slogans.