The boxes came down from the attic at the same time every year.
Delicate, brightly-colored ornaments.
The Christmas village collection.
Keepsakes passed down from generation to generation.
All beautiful in their own right, but none could ever compare with the macaroni wreath and its simple message:
I love you, Mom.
Susan Gale Wickes is a writer from Indiana. She enjoys writing short stories and greeting card verses and the joy of cartoon captioning.
Just another lonely morning since her husband passed. As she pours her coffee, the doorbell rings.
“Merry Christmas, Mrs. Johnson!”
A gift? For me?
By the fire, with tears in her eyes, she opens it.
“Good for one car wash.”
“One lawn trimming.”
And in a child’s scribbles, “One hug.”
Christa Lyon-Moon has spent two decades transcribing the voices of others as a TypeWell transcriber for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community in higher education. She lends those same attentive ears to her writing, crafting stories that listen closely to silence, love, and the small moments connecting her family and lively collection of animals.
The star was somewhere under the tinsel and the web of fairy lights.
“I’d buy a new one instead of this junk,” Max said, but Laura rummaged harder.
A flash of red plastic appeared in the corner, and she heard the voice of her mum:
“You are my little star.”
Nelly Shulman’s prose was published in numerous literary magazines and anthologies and she has authored three collections of short stories. She is a member of The Society of Authors (UK).
The lake was frozen solid but shadows made the surface look dark and wet.
My father, drunk on eggnog, measured his strides.
While I waited for the slip and fall that would crack his skull, it occurred to me any passersby might believe they’d witnessed a man walking on water.
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.
It’s our first time at California Pizza Kitchen
and the waiter asks us how we liked our meal
Good, thank you!
Then he gets to my mother
asks how she liked the pizza
I make better pizza at home.
And we gasp
and she says
But it’s true
I do.
Reem Faruqi’s the award-winning author of Lailah’s Lunchbox, a book based on her own experiences immigrating to the United States. She’s the author of other picture books and middle grade novels – many received starred reviews. Find her at ReemFaruqi.com.
The following film contains upsetting content, including: drug use, smoking, foul and problematic language, sex, violence, suicide, abuse of minors, depictions of depression and psychosis, monsters in positions of power, and dead pets. This is the only film you will be allowed to see. You are the protagonist. Press play.
Tim Boiteau is a Writers of the Future winner and author of The Nilwere. He lives in Michigan.
They would die but not surrender. Warriors of royal ambition, they were unable to resist the bloodstained crown won at the martyr-making end of a bayonet.
The stomping of botas rattled the desert mission. The Tennessean grinned, and Colonel Crockett and his boys raised their muskets, preparing for their coronation.
David Albano is a proud native son of Baron Rouge, Louisiana who now lives in Texas. He is an avid reader who also enjoys writing, LSU Sports, and being involved in his church community. David has previously been published in Frontier Tales and Dark Moments.
The story of the week for December 15 to 19 is…
Perfection by J Hess
Stumbling through the front door, he removed his shoes before shuffling to the hall powder room where he would make best efforts to wash away telltale remnants of the evening, before slowly climbing the creaking stairs and cautiously slipping beneath the covers.He exhaled slowly.
The empty bed whispered “Goodbye”.
Mike Shields is a writer, speaker, observer, and reasonably good listener.
I drove past a billboard somewhere in Alabama. It had a man’s name on it. Not the name of a lawyer or real estate agent: just Alan. Written in red spray paint across rotting plywood and framed by faded pictures of fishing. I don’t know Alan. But clearly someone did.
Makena Helms is a recent BFA graduate and longtime creator of random scenarios inside her head. Besides writing, she also enjoys devouring the incredible work of others and spending time with her dog.