I sat at a picnic table in the woods, with my pen. I had hoped to honor you.
I would be masterful with my language, weave an imaginary tapestry. All would know of your glory,
had I succeeded. Instead,
I wrote this. My,
what a waste of such precious time.
James P. Spitznogle is an aspiring something from a mountainous somewhere.
The story of the week for January 15 to 19 is…
Promises by Zurina Saban
“You have me,” he said, the promise reflected in his eyes. She believed him.
That was a year ago. He’d lied.
Now she held her screaming newborn in her arms, breasts raw from another failed feeding. “Shhh,” she whispered near his little ear. “I’m here. I will always be here.”
Zurina Saban is a poet and author based in Johannesburg.
I remember what it was like to go to sleep and just luxuriate in it, swimming in the darkness of hours and hours.
Now you’re here, with your whimpers in the night and your chubby hands clutching me as you feed. You smell like warmth, and love has replaced sleep.
Victoria Davies is a freelance music teacher and writer from London, UK. She loves writing her thoughts and feelings about motherhood after the birth of her son in November 2016, an event more life-changing than she ever expected. You can read her blog at muminmakeup.wordpress.com.
She contemplated the fork. She’d seen the golden path a thousand times; the dark path, never before.
Ahead of her, the growl of a predator she didn’t know.
Behind her, the cry of a predator she did. “Baby, don’t be this way.”
She turned onto the dark path, and ran.
Claire Bartlett lives in Copenhagen, where she writes from her enchanted forest apartment.
Frank woke up in the early hours of the morning to a loud scraping sound from just outside his close little chamber. His eyes were open before he knew it, and he stretched his long limbs, throwing off the cover.
The grave robbers took one look at Frank and fled.
Philipp M. Selman is an artist, songwriter, athlete, and professional copywriter. His work has been published in Dark Fire Fiction and Fifty Word Stories, and examples of his art, music, and writing can be found at pmselman.com.
The dog noticed first. Spun upright in our bed.
“What is it, Calvin?” Alert ears. Rigid tail. Low growl.
I dropped my hand under the bedframe. Grabbed the twenty-two.
When the shadow appeared in the bedroom doorway, I fired once. A practiced shot.
He won’t be coming home late anymore.
John dabbles in flash fiction while editing his (hopefully) debut novel. Taste some of his stories at JohnDavisFrain.com.
I sat on the rickety court bench, filling out the restraining order application, vowing I would someday leave my apartment, walk down the street, and go to the supermarket without fear, no longer trusting in those who proffer, “Hey, why don’t you try online dating? It worked for my cousin!”
Debbie L. Miller is a writer and winner of the 2017 Mona Schreiber Prize for Humorous Fiction and Nonfiction. She dates in beautiful Brooklyn, New York.
I must fix my time machine, but every night she comes dancing in the woods and I’m lost.
I wanted to give my legacy to science, not lose it to history, but maybe I’ll ask her name tonight. Maybe she’ll love me,
too.
Maybe they’ll remember Robin Loxley, after all.
Matthew Wilson, 34, has been published over 150 times in such places as Horror*Zine, Zimbell House Publishing, Star*Line, Alban Lake, and many more. He is currently editing his first novel.
The grey mask shields her eyes from visions of the children she never had
and scents her dreams with lavender
The ear plugs muffle the whispers of her ghosts
She bites down on a bullet, designed to take the strain
And she lays herself down,
prepared
to fight the night.
Jennifer M. Smith lives in Burlington, Ontario.