ROBIN ELLEN BROOKS: Dad

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

Tomorrow he’ll reach his eighth decade.

He plans to talk catastrophes with his party guests, how we’ll lose power, freeze, starve, run out of gasoline; how will we survive? That’s top of mind when you’re 80. How will I survive?

How will I survive the loss when eventually he doesn’t?

Robin Ellen Brooks is a Seattle-based writer who enjoys creating screenplays, drama and memoir. Follow along on her adventures by receiving her once-monthly newsletter postcards from sparkles here http://tinyurl.com/yef38n5j, and check out her website at robinellenbrooks.weebly.com.

PAUL W REID: Cameras On

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Cameras on—students in different worlds, talking to unseen friends, scanning phones for signs of popularity, staring out large, sunny windows.

Daily query—questions anyone? Silence, stares, muted in unison.

Class over—emotionless waves, quick exits, blank screen.

Calendar reminder—next class in 15 minutes, stand, stretch, and sit again.

Paul W. Reid teaches writing at CVTC in Wisconsin.

LESLEY BUNGAY: Wisdom and Folly

Adventure, Artistic, Submissions, , ,

The Sage kept the book hidden, the last of its kind, saved from the cull of the Guardians of Knowledge. One day her words would tell the truth. One day her kin would rise again.

By the time her great-grandchildren found the secret panel, the pages had turned to dust.

Lesley Bungay writes short fiction as an antidote to writing and editing novels. Her words are online with Wensum Lit, Paragraph Planet, and 101 Words as well as 50 Word Stories. See more on X, Instagram, and Threads.

KATIE COLEMAN: We Were Lovers

Adventure, Submissions, , ,

We rush to the bell tower, hankering after moonlight selfies from the summit. We’re laughing on the spiral stairs, kissing and groping on landings. When the bells ring, he accidentally plummets.

It can’t be my fault, him backing into a clearly marked opening, leaving only my name in his will.

Katie Coleman’s work appears in Ghost Parachute, The Sunlight Press, SoFloPoJo, Bending Genres, Briefly Zine, The Odd Magazine, Five on the Fifth, Bright Flash and more. She’s received Pushcart and Best of the Net nominations and has a master’s in creative writing. She can be found on Twitter @anjuna2000

KEN GOSSE: Monkeyin’ Around on a Dark and Stormy Night

Amusing, Poetry, Submissions, , ,

Those ten small monkeys who jumped in bed chose not to hear what mother said. The first fell off.
He laid still, like he was dead—then a hand grabbed his head.
He found what he’d done wasn’t fun.
And those who were left
at the end?
Zero.
Not
One!

Ken Gosse usually writes whimsical, rhymed verse. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, later in Pure Slush, Home Planet News, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Spillwords, and many others. Raised in Chicago suburbs, now retired, he and his wife live in Mesa, AZ, with rescue dogs and cats.

Editor: This story is written in a “Fibonacci format”, where the number of syllables in each line declines based on the Fibonacci number sequence.

SUE ANN GLEASON: Betrayal

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

I watch you climb the steps gingerly holding the handrail. The lines on your forehead map worry. How are the kids? I ask. Has your granddaughter checked in to see how you’re doing? You take the groceries, grateful for yogurt and honey, whisper: No, the granddaughter just asks for money.

Sue Ann Gleason is a writer, educator, and nourishment guide who loves freshly sharpened pencils and pages that turn. See more at wellnourishedwoman.com and sueanngleason.substack.com.

CAROL TYMANN: Out with the Old, In with the New

Adventure, Amusing, Submissions, Top Stories, , , ,

Our first night in our first home, too hyped to sleep. We roam the halls marveling, planning. In our bright new kitchen, there gleams a behemoth of a fridge bequeathed from generous sellers.

What to do first—stock it with staples or inform police what we found in the freezer?

Carol Tymann is writing, reading, and playing through a typically long New York winter season.

RAYMOND SLOAN: Deep

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Growing up, we didn’t have much, but we had Mum. Sometimes at night, I would drift into her room, drawn by her CD, ‘Ocean Sounds,’ filling the darkness.

Mum whined, turned, and tugged. Her pillow sopping. It was too late when we finally realised that, all along, she’d been drowning.

Raymond Sloan lives and writes in County Down, Ireland. He has previously been published in Blink-Ink, The Dribble Drabble Review, 101 Words, Every Day Fiction, among others.

WENDY COOPER: Date Night

Amusing, Submissions, , , , ,

The flickering glow of a candle illuminated their faces across the restaurant table. Hearts blazed with passion and desire. Sparks sizzled, unbound. Breathless.

As he ate, she reached out her hand. He gently held her palm.

She gazed, yearning. Both leaned in, trembling.

He said: “Get your own french fries.”

Wendy resides in Vancouver, BC. Wendy placed third in the Women on Writing Spring 2023 Flash Fiction competition. Her work has also appeared in A Story in 100 Words and Macabre Minima, an anthology.