On this dark night, a man roams the beach, eyeing the abandoned lighthouse – once a beacon guiding wave-ravaged boats home, sea-savaged soldiers conjuring the strength to set burning arms to oars again.
He longs to break in, to light up the sky, searching for his wife, nestled in the stars.
Billie-Leigh Burns is a writer from Liverpool. Her work has been featured by Funny Pearls, 50 Word Stories, and Fictionette.
The first cat he loved died when he was young.
Time weathered. Age hardened. Pain grew familiar.
But after the divorce, the scratch that cat had etched into his toddler-sized ring finger started stinging, and that wailing child reemerged, scarred by something he had assumed was exclusively soft and warm.
Tim Weighart grew up near Boston, but he lives in Colorado now. He enjoys words, and the trials that come with finding the right ones.
He plants green thumbs in fertile soil, coaxing every seed into life. Donates vibrant baskets to friends and carves Halloween pumpkins for local kids, while appreciative neighbours can depend on his generosity with mouthwatering fruit and vegetables. His scrumptious strawberries are especially prized.
Until digging police unearth his missing wife.
Deborah writes at an old desk surrounded by five hundred pet bugs.
The terrified child cowers down the hall of the nursing home unaware her grandma once felt the same. Her mother forced this visit. Everyone smiles at her as if she exists only to spread happiness. Hope in a puny package. Grandma won’t remember her, and that is for the best.
Julie Reed is a retired nursing home administrator living in Indiana. She is a member of the Indiana Writer’s Center Fiction Group.
They found the notebook buried within the bookshelf between two hardbacks. In it, the ideas that their mother could never arrange into an intelligible book. Words stacked upon words, the cursive neat, but heavy.
It could have been a book, they thought.
It should have been a book, they thought.
Ran Walker is a microfictionist and author of over 30 books. The creator of the 100 x 100 micro novel, he teaches creative writing at Hampton University and lives in Virginia with his wife and daughter.
The first time I met a cheetah I finally understood how the dark rivulets running from her eyes connected us, heart to heart, separating her from other wild cats, speaking uniqueness and lending dignity. So, why, looking in the mirror, seeing those same dark lines, do I feel so sad?
Eileen became slightly acquainted with several cheetah when visiting South Africa and has fond memories of their beauty and dignity.
The story of the week for February 19 to 23 is…
Early Spring by Kai Wang
In snowfall I always saw two of you outside my window, dancing awkwardly on the icy driveway. You laughed and threw powder into the air, like confetti. New Year’s wishes of warmer mittens, better memories.
This year it was only you I saw, making angels alone as winter melted away.
Kai is an American college student currently on exchange in Chimay, a town in the French part of Belgium. He was inspired to submit a story after learning about the website in his English teacher Mr. Monin’s class.
She smashes things, my daughter. Her toy easel, recently. My electric mixer. The frame for our apartment’s only photo of her father.
She can’t help it.
However angry, I hug her each night, kiss her little forehead, and tell her to sleep. I pray that there, she might find peace.
Timbray loves birds and carousels. He is the author of Spare Mattress and The Rens series, and work found in ARCH and Every Day Fiction.
Sam’s suspicion shocked Sonia. She said she simply scrubbed Selbert’s striped, stained, soiled, soon-shameful salmon shirt. Suddenly, Sam surprised Sonia, shoving Selbert sideways, scattering silver spoons, salad, soursop, sandwiches, serviettes. Selbert shoved Sam. Sam struck, swept, subdued Selbert. Sonia screamed. Surprisingly, Sam shook Selbert senseless. Selbert surrendered. Sonia simply smiled.
Kirk Budhooram has an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) with High Commendation. His new book The Underwater Tunnel and Other Stories is now on sale. He lives happily with his wife who is also a writer, filmmaker, and artist. Follow them on TikTok.