The story of the week for February 5 to 9 is…
Lasting Impressions by Bob Thurber
BOB THURBER: Lasting Impressions
Every time the spacebar sticks or a letter key jams
I remind myself I was not always a ghost with no voice.
Though I honestly cannot remember a moment of any life,
or a time when I was not constantly beating an old rusty typewriter to haunt an empty house.
Bob Thurber is the author of “Paperboy: A Dysfunctional Novel” and two collections of stories. A celebrated master of Flash and Micro Fiction,” his work has appeared in 60 anthologies, received dozens of awards, and been used in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts where, despite severe vision loss, he continues to write every day. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.
SA HARTWICH: Breathe
They came in solidarity: wide nostrils, narrow nostrils, dark-brown to albino-white, humongous, miniscule, deviated septums; stuffy and clear.
Seven billion gathered at the Superdome. Seven billion counted down, then inhaled, and all over Mother Earth bad people shrieked in defiance, clutching soul to no avail.
Flames licked at Heaven’s gate.
S.A. Hartwich lives in Bellingham, Washington, where he roasts coffee to make ends meet. His work has appeared in such venues as Apeiron Review, Bird’s Thumb, and Thrush. Taleggio is his favorite smelly cheese.
MATILDA HARJUNPÄÄ: Pretty Things
Bring me all the pretty things that forgot to develop a personality.
Bring them to me and I will build myself an army.
They will hover over the masses,
ethereal,
untouchable,
and whisper like sirens in the night:
This is what you want to be.
You’ll never be good enough.
Matilda Harjunpää has a complicated relationship with social media.
GAYNOR JONES: Tin Foil Hats
When Timothy’s mother bought the microwave, his father insisted they wear tin foil hats to protect their brains. Timothy, ever his father’s son, went one step further: he lined the whole thing with foil.
After the funeral they brought out baked potatoes, hot from the oven. As it should be.
Gaynor Jones is a writer of micro, flash and short stories from Manchester, UK.
ALISON CARROLL: Early Thaw
He’d treasured that winter. Record snow. Briskly cold.
Mother had carefully arranged a scarf around his neck while he watched the children’s snowball fight. He stifled a chuckle when father clumsily slipped on the ice.
Only when his charcoal eyes slid down his melting frame did the reality set in.
Alison treasures the winter and loves lots of snow.
NADJA TANG: Iced Tea
“Ah, an organic bergamot iced tea with rosemary mint.” She ordered it.
I tried not to look at her.
“I am not a hipster,” she said, too defensively. “Everyone’s a hipster nowadays, being all pretentious and stuff. I just really like bergamot and rosemary mint.”
Pretentious, I mused. Point proven.
Nadja Tang is a twenty-something English teacher who loves to read and hates to write.
G ALLEN WILBANKS: Memory Thief
“Isn’t that the funniest thing you ever heard?”
“Yes, mom. It’s a wonderful story. But it’s time for bed. Good night.”
I sigh and think to myself, when you wake up tomorrow you can tell it again, and I will pretend it’s the first time I ever heard it. Again.
G. Allen Wilbanks is a member of the HWA and has published over 40 short stories in Deep Magic, Daily Science Fiction, The Talisman, and other venues. He has published two short story collections, and his first novel, When Darkness Comes, was released in October, 2017. For more information, visit gallenwilbanks.com.
AMANDA: For Sale Sign
Two rockers in the corners. One’s been empty for years.
Pictures line the walls, smiling faces from younger days. The kitchen echos memories. Remember when? Can you still smell those biscuits?
Clocks tick like my heart beats. Tick, tick, tick.
He’s moving out, but a part of me will stay.
Amanda is a writer and dreamer by day and a mother of four by night (when will they sleep?).
TODD MERCER: The Express Lane
Finally in the supermarket checkout, another shopper said, “You’re that guy, aren’t you?” Specifically: “That guy from that one new show.”
Close enough. The cashier confirmed it, I was that guy.
Game on after that. Strangers waving on the street. Soon it turned surreal. Groupies at the clubs. Stalkers. Leeches.
Todd Mercer won the Dyer-Ives Kent County Prize for Poetry, the National Writers Series Poetry Prize, and the Grand Rapids Festival Flash Fiction Award. His digital chapbook, Life-wish Maintenance, appeared at Right Hand Pointing. Mercer’s recent work appears in 100 Word Stories, The Lake, Plum Tree Tavern and Vending Machine Press.