The story of the week for February 6 to 10 is…
The Invisible Girl by Nikki Davison
D AVERY: Dream State
You said our being together forever was your greatest dream.
I’m somnambulant I said. This won’t work out. We won’t last.
You said you didn’t judge, you’d change for me, become somnambulant too.
I explained that I was dreaming you, and all dreams end upon awakening.
Shh, you said. Sleep.
D. Avery plays with words at shiftnshake.wordpress.com. Her work sometimes appears in periodicals and publications.
NIKKI DAVISON: The Invisible Girl
I vanish every Tuesday at twenty past two. Poof. Gone. Invisible. Totally unseen by Kelly Summers and Anya Taylor as they point their hockey sticks and fill their teams.
Quarter past three I reappear wearing only my underwear, seen by everyone in the locker room – Anya makes sure of it.
Nikki Davison is a writer and guinea pig obsessive from the northeast of England.
JAMES MENGES: Not Yet, But Soon
The headline “ChatGPT eliminates need for writers” has him nervously type the prompt: “write a fifty-word story about love lost”.
Within seconds, ChatGPT spits out prose in any style: gothic, sci-fi, even hipster slang, but to his delightful surprise, it never gets the word count right.
He is temporarily relieved.
James Menges is a writer and photographer who keeps one eye looking over his shoulder at the approaching AI future. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America.
STORY OF THE MONTH: January 2023
The Story of the Month is chosen from the Story of the Week winners announced from the past month.
The finalists for January were:
The Lost Shepherd by Bob Thurber
Reunion by Ran Walker
Egg and Soldiers by Sumitra Singam
Your Umbrella by Caroline Ashley
Murder in Fairytaleshire by Thomas Malloch
The winner of the January 2023 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…
Your Umbrella
EILEEN MARDRES: Ships in the Night
I cherish a single cherry blossom, encased in a miniature glass cube and nestled in a niche of a small display case. A secret remembrance of my heart beating wildly, of an instantaneous, electric, fleeting connection. No one else will ever know. A gift from my very own passing ship.
Eileen delights in turning life events into micro fiction, daring friends and family to search for the kernel of truth that inspired.
JEROME NEWSOME: I’d Rather Step On A Stonefish Than Love Again
A beautiful lifeguard raced towards me, a sinking ship not worth saving. Her black hair flowed like a flag. Her eyes were brighter than the ring I had returned to the jewelry store. She examined me like a pearl that was more than an irritant thrown away by a clam.
Jerome has work in Flying South, Vestal Review, among others. He is hard at work on a novel.
CHIDI YOUNG: Teening
Curled up on his lap, she’d tell stories about cities lit by fireflies and flying to the moon on pancakes.
He watched the sparkles in her eyes fade away in deep melancholy, her defiance repelling him. He wants his daughter back, but the teen in her has a firmer grip.
Chidi lives in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. He’s a teacher and a photographer who loves reading and writing short stories.
LOU FABER: One-Way Ticket
He steps off the train. He looks around expecting her to be there. She said she would meet him. It is why he came. She does not answer her phone. As the night approaches, he gets a text message, waits patiently for the next train back to where he started.
Lou Faber is a poet and short story writer living in Florida. His work has appeared internationally and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
KEN GOSSE: A Beddy-Bye Lullaby
Over the rainbow,
may your dream be
a wise scarecrow
who sets you free;
a kiss from a frog
who’d been a prince
and lived in a bog—
a king ever since;
perchance a bean
swapped for a cow,
wonder foreseen
someday, somehow.
Fun roads to take
till you’re awake.
Ken Gosse prefers writing short, rhyming, humorous poetry. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, he has also been published by Pure Slush, Home Planet News Online, 50 Word Stories, and other publications. Raised in the Chicago suburbs, now retired, he and his wife have lived with dogs and cats underfoot in Mesa, AZ, over twenty-five years.
Editor’s Note: This poem is a slightly modified presentation of a “minison,” which you can learn more about at theminisonproject.com.