The story of the week for November 19 to 23 is…
The Good Father by Paul Negri
GRAHAM ROBERT SCOTT: Changeable Natures
After the strange cow—on our land that night, yet unbranded—nipped Pete, we watched him close for a month, and, this proving wise, every full moon thereafter, until Ma, Mellie, and I returned from vacation to find Pa’s dementia had deepened, and over a mouthful of burger, Mellie asked, “Where’s Pete?”
Graham Robert Scott teaches writing at a university in north Texas. His stories have appeared in Barrelhouse Online, Nature, and Blink-Ink. See more at hemicyon.wordpress.com.
MICHELLE DINNICK: Is it Finally Over?
Is it finally over? Whatever this was?
Not dating, not friendship… It’s giving me pause.
I am angry. Hurt. But not that upset.
I wonder, was it love? And will I forget?
Not that long ago, I seem to recall,
Still had that nice flutter feeling,
Do you? At all?
Michelle is an award-winning author and poet. She is a contributor in the most recent Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Spirit of Canada, and a quarter finalist in the 2017 ScreenCraft Short Screenplay contest. Her writing has appeared in The Globe and Mail, (one of Canada’s National newspapers) and a number of local magazines and newspapers including The Briar Crier, Total Sports, Voice of the Farmer, Arts Talk and Focus 50 Plus. Her short story “Lightning Strikers” (also featured on Commuter Lit) was made into a series in the Focus 50 + Newspaper because fans asked for more! This year, Michelle won the Ontario Writers Conference Story Starter Contest in two categories. You can find her online at commuterlit.com, fiftywordstories.com, femininecollective.com, michelledinnick.com and @MichelleDinnick.
JUDI MacKENZIE: Reunion
Forty years of life swell between us since graduation day.
Yet here we are, time melted away in sunny blue Homecoming skies.
Youth aroused,
Pure spirit lurking in football memories
and tangible attraction amidst the Rah and Rah.
Back home, to the future, soft remnants remain, glowing…
Please don’t go.
Judi MacKenzie is a writer who recently attended a reunion.
SUSAN GALE WICKES: Absolution
Hansel never did like kids. They made too much noise. They had sticky fingers.
His wife pleaded, but he wouldn’t give in.
Unexpectedly, she gave birth to a blue-eyed angel. One look into those eyes and his heart melted.
He asked for his wife’s forgiveness.
Secretly, she prayed for his.
Susan Gale Wickes lives in Indiana and writes poetry, short fiction, and songs.
PAUL HOCK: Just One Minute
Just take a minute, it’s all we ask
We rose as one, fulfilled our task
Remember what we did and why
No need to mourn, feel guilt or cry
No need to seek revenge, or hate
Just take one minute, we can wait
Just one minute,
It’s all we ask
Paul Hock is an author, songwriter, and storyteller from Ontario, Canada. See more at paulhockpublishing.com.
Editor: Posted with my apologies for missing November 11 by a week and a half.
TRICIA LOWTHER: Lost and Found
Charlie’s been rummaging through Great-Aunt Mary’s button box.
He holds a coin aloft. “I found treasure, Mummy!”
I take it, caress the inscription around the edge. Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, 1914. Mary’s father died at the Somme, when she was two.
Charlie shimmers expectantly.
“Yes,” I say, throat tight. “You did.”
Tricia Lowther’s flash fiction, short stories, and poetry have won or been placed in several competitions and been published in Writer’s Forum magazine, Mslexia, and Brilliant Flash Fiction amongst others. Tricia was an award winner in the UK’s Creative Future Literary Awards 2017. Find her on Twitter.
PAUL NEGRI: The Good Father
The ground was so hard they could not dig a grave.
“We could wait until spring,” said Jack, his toes frozen.
“Or take her someplace warmer,” said Julia, her breath frosted.
Father smiled. “Or we could build a fire.”
The children looked at each other. “Father knows best,” said Julia.
Paul Negri has twice won the gold medal for fiction in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Writing Competition. His work has appeared in Vestal Review, The Penn Review, PIf Magazine, Penny Shorts, and many other publications. He lives and writes in Clifton, New Jersey.
RACHAEL REDGATE: Indelible
We waited until the twittering mums at the school gates dispersed before leaping the fence.
Instead of Geography, the Ferris wheel. Candyfloss for a packed lunch. Faces painted like tigers in place of double Art.
Home, hours late. Still gleeful, until I realised I’d forgotten to wash my whiskers off.
Rachael is a teacher from Scotland.
KOJI A DAE: End Chanting
Wisps of sandalwood fill my nostrils.
Dan told me the smoke would unlock my chakras and balance my soul. I sat across from him. We hummed and chanted, inhaled and exhaled. Apparently I wasn’t loud enough.
I lick my fingers and press them hard against the ember, dousing his memory.
Koji A Dae is an American writer living in Bulgaria with her husband and two children.