A previously loud planet is now silent. Its people—including myself—are isolated.
Quietly, I sit at my desk, where my old stories rest. Grabbing a pencil, I add layers to their clothing. Then I create new journeys, with paths that test one’s courage.
Suddenly, I find myself exploring the universe again.
Cristina Marie Pagan has appeared in 50-Word Stories, Glimpse, the Mystic Blue Review, and Seshat Literary Magazine.
Weeping for his dead father,
Aunt Lizzie held him at the doorway
to the kitchen,
______________and would not let go.
Later, she spooned bacon grease over sizzling eggs.
Cooled their coffee and milk while he sat on her lap,
cup to saucer, saucer to cup, a sip,
______________and a giggle.
Matthew Eichenlaub is most fortunate to be living in southern Maine with a pickup truck, health insurance, and a new right hip. Thank you to the Essence of all that is.
The philosopher awoke with a start, lifting his head from the coffee table. He had been dreaming that he was an open-faced peanut butter sandwich with an exhausted drug addict passed out on him.
He peeled the peanut-buttered bread from his cheek.
Who’s to say which reality was a dream?
Adri Persad is from West Virginia, and pursues interests in writing, engineering, fitness, and general grousing. You can follow him on Twitter @36_chambuhz.
She stared, unseeing, through the murky window.
The tea in her mug had grown cold. She wondered if there was any point in making another.
The radio fitzed in the background.
She sighed. There was a pile of dirty things in the sink. So she started on the washing up.
E. E. Rhodes is an archaeologist who lives in Cardiff in the UK, with 5000 books, a tolerant partner and at least a few mice. Follower her on Twitter at @electra_rhodes.
Nahla watched warily as they unpacked her belongings: bowl, leash, collar. Sooner or later, she’d have to move again. It never lasted.
A child scrambled forward, wrapping her in a welcoming hug. Warmth, unlike any other, flooded Nahla’s chest.
How long can I stay? she searched.
Forever, his eyes answered.
Cadence Rage is a musician, animal rights activist, and caffeine-addicted weaver of speculative fiction. She publishes flash fiction and hilarious observations at cadencerage.wordpress.com. Find her on social media @cadencerage.
“Why would you do this to me?” the woman cries.
The café falls silent but she doesn’t seem to notice.
The man slowly removes her hand from his shoulder. He smirks as he gets up.
I can’t stop staring as she begins to sob, and I hate myself for it.
Eszter Molnar is a former teacher who lives by the windswept British seaside. She has been published in one of the UK’s biggest subscription magazines for children. By day, she cleans up after preschoolers, by night she writes flash fiction, picture books and Middle Grade fiction.
The story of the week for May 4 to 8 is…
Lessons on Electricity, or: When in Quarantine with a Husband by Laurie Kuntz
Sunlight creeps through my bedroom window on the morning’s shoulders. Roosters crow and crickets chirp against the cargo train’s fading whistle. Cardinals dash from nandina berry bushes to plush dogwood blooms. Squirrels pose like monuments within towering blades of grass.
Our world has changed, but morning’s familiarity brings great comfort.
Vernae is new to the world of publishing, but is enjoying every moment of it. She began submitting her work for publication in 2018 and has been published several times. Her unpublished Children’s Book “Teddy Wet My Bed” was recently selected as one of five Finalists by Eyelands 2019 Book Awards in the Unpublished Books Category. Vernae prays for the health and safety of our families, nation, and world.
An important question was answered on one cool, mid-autumn morning.
A young boy, face full of pimples, asked a girl, mouth full of braces: “Who do you think is more ugly? Me or you?”
To which the girl replied, “You, for even thinking that this makes me ugly at all.”
Connor Williams has no idea what to write for a bio, but hopes you all have a wonderful May.
That night, while our spouses slept, we bet double-or-nothing on which clouds would hit the crescent moon and which would slide beneath.
I picked right eight times in a row, transforming ten bucks into $1280.
Go again, she said.
I said, I think I need to see some collateral first.
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.