I am not adventurous with food. Simple meals without spices or sauces suit me. The new cook at the cafeteria gives me a wink and a knowing smile. Others complain the cabbage is boiled to death and the stew is tasteless.
On our passionless dates we share pizza without toppings.
Stuart is a retired teacher from Christchurch, New Zealand. He likes to fire up his taste buds with devilishly spicy foods.
Tongue-tied, trusting, and alone. The word she could change was alone.
Four tours in Iraq. Desert sand drove his thirst for wet kisses and the Texas two-step.
He took her hand. The music began. She believed in love at first sight.
Just like the other women who quenched his thirst.
Kavanaugh’s poetry, prose, and photographs have appeared in Wising Up Press, The Lindenwood Review, The Persimmon Tree, When Women Waken, Light-Journal, and others. Kavanaugh enjoys driving the scenic route between St. Pete, Florida, and the Off Campus Writers Workshop (OCWW) in Winnetka, Illinois, not far from home. When not writing, Kavanaugh fills the time by pondering slices of life or the surf on a beach. See more at kavanaughwrites.com or twitter.com/off_themap.
The search party had given up hope of finding any survivors of the crash. The island reeked of death and the heat was intolerable.
The only survivor had been following them for days, hunger gnawing at his belly. He attacked them that night.
Three weeks later, another search party arrived.
When not writing short fiction, Daniel teaches English in Poland.
See more at facebook.com/ponglish1.
Every week it was a new cause. Something to fight for, believe in. Karen was always looking for a shiny new bandwagon to hop aboard.
She was at a rally when her husband packed up and headed out for greener pastures.
Turns out he needed something to believe in, too.
Susan Gale Wickes is from Indiana. She spends her days crafting short stories, epigrams, poetry, and the occasional song.
Carolyn shows up agitated, out of kilter. We feign concern and lean in for what could possibly be a delicious story.
“Mother is in jail,” says Carolyn. “She shot the neighbor’s hamster.”
We gasp. “Jail? For that stupid hamster?”
“The problem is,” says Carolyn, “she was aiming for the neighbor.”
Linda Saldaña lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and would like to assure everyone that no actual hamsters were harmed in the creation of this story.
I knew this guy once who said you should never give a watch to anyone you care about. “Because your relationship will have a time limit.”
I thought nothing of it.
Since then, however, I have given watches to several people that I no longer want to know.
It works.
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.
An ancient sepia-tone photograph:
She stood motionless on the jetty, her back to the camera, staring at Liberty’s statue and a hazy Manhattan skyline. Middle-aged, in bundled clothing, her right palm to her face, in awe and bewilderment of all she beheld.
Exhausted, alone, and hopeful in a new world.
Michael Borne is a professional architect and an amateur watercolor artist.
Contrary Carl is the world’s most annoying housemate.
He opens the closets,
stands in the sitting room,
works in the playroom,
plays in the workshop,
parks on the driveway,
wears shorts in the pantry,
and keeps his mistress in the master bedroom.
So I locked him in the living room.
Mark Farley writes novels, flash fiction, and the occasional poem. See more at mumbletoes.blogspot.com.
The story of the week for September 3 to 7 is…
I Close My Eyes to See the World More Clearly by Jim Doss
He found the note taped on his refrigerator.
Hey,
I’m leaving this note to inform you I’ve stolen your soul for a scavenger hunt. I don’t believe you’ll find this news troubling, seeing as you weren’t using it anyways. Send inquiries to Hell if you want it back.
Sincerely,
Death
Andrea Allison currently writes and resides in a small Oklahoman town. You can follow her on Twitter at @sthrnwriter.