It’s so far up the beach, her first sandcastle. The bucket is too full. She stumbles. Water sloshes over the rim.
It’s scalding. Her leg blooms with pain.
A nurse prises the teacup from her knotted hand. He leads her slowly to a chair. It’s so far up the ward.
Tamsin wrote this story during quite a long walk.
A sickle moon is gleaming.
Legs on the ledge, nerves suppressed by drilling.
He jumps, engages the chute – a jerk, then slowing.
His time airborne quickly fleeting,
He glides down softly, never knowing
The danger waiting out of sight and hearing
In years to come, a source of nightmare screaming.
Victor Bort is a Russian lawyer and a former police investigator in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Being crazy about the English language, he is trying to write flash fiction stories in the language he really adores.
Mind your Ps and Qs at meals. Say grace, toast the cook, push potatoes and peas onto a fork. Never let your elbows feel the linen cloth. Smile. When Father’s hand brushes Aunt Kitty’s, lingering a moment too long, look at Mother and say, “Pass the butter, please.” Be polite.
Christina Dalcher wrote this story.
The centurion realized they were doomed
surrounded by barbarian hordes
Not his choice, being sent to Germania
To die on foreign soil, in this supposed adventure
For the Glory of Rome and Gaius Cornelius Tacitus
He marked the time on his Rolex
The professor was wrong
Time travel… really sucked
Paul Hock wrote this story.
You fell in love with me at first sight. I loved you long before that.
We met at the corner shop: you were unshaven, hungover, your hair still wet from the shower.
I had rehearsed my opening lines, been planning my outfit for thirteen years.
You didn’t stand a chance.
Guy is still waiting for the fame and prosperity promised to him three years ago by a fortune cookie. This is his nineteenth 50-word story.
Life had taken over. I’d tried to get it back on track. Thwarted at every step, I finally called the children to my feet. In simple language I tried to explain how life sometimes runs amok, despite our best efforts.
The television remote was beyond my mental capabilities, I explained.
Gordon Lysen is enjoying retirement one day at a time.
Visiting a dark church, I notice a bowed head in the front pew, haloed with rainbows from stained-glass saints in leaded windows. I respect his need for peace and soulful prayer.
Quietly tiptoeing to the altar, a sidelong glance reveals his cupped hands radiating light, and that he is texting.
Viv Burgess likes writing, it’s the thinking that is troublesome.
The story of the week for June 12 to 16 is…
Heirloom Gardening by Candace Kubinec
He awoke.
The memories all came flooding back. The screams. Blood. Lots of blood.
She awoke.
Her dreams lingered… two black butterflies flitting about on a warm day, dancing just for her.
I awoke, resigned to their presence. Ours was an uneasy alliance, here in this darkness behind my eyes.
Dave James Ashton favours short fiction as he has a bad memory and poor attention span.
He cared more than words could say. All the signs were there. One day, she was depressed; another, enthusiastic. He experienced her life in snapshots — health, sickness, good times and bad ones — more devoted than any husband.
He lifted his leg, left his reply, and proceeded to the next hydrant.
Philipp M. Selman is a graphic artist, musician, historical martial artist, and professional copywriter. His art, music, and writing can be found at pmselman.com.