I met him by the loch.
“If you ever meet a kelpie,” he said, “never look it in the eye.”
I stroked his hair. It was black and wet. When my fingers stuck there, his eyes pinwheeled. Long, equine lashes.
In a vortex of thunder, we began our riverbed descent.
Lisa Beyt recently relocated to Edinburgh which has fuelled a fascination with Scottish beasties. You can find her loitering on Twitter.
Normally she’s safe in her hutch, munching carrots, but today there’s only a swinging cage door and tufts of fur snagged on the wire. He hopes the fox granted her a quick death.
At the evening meal, he prays for her soul while his mother smirks and serves the stew.
Mark Farley is attempting to write 1,000,000 words in 2016. Please wish him luck! See more at mumbletoes.blogspot.com.
One day Big Balloon said to Little Balloon, “Shush. Listen. Hear that hiss?”
Inflated from the same tank, though years apart at different carnivals, each wore the same drawn-on smile beneath unblinking dotted eyes.
“Don’t let my deflation go to waste,” Big Balloon said, steadily leaking. “Inhale. Breathe me in.”
Over the years Bob Thurber’s work has received a long list of awards and prizes. His most recent book is a collection of brief stories titled “Nothing But Trouble.” His first novel, “Paperboy: A Dysfunctional Novel,” was recently rereleased. Visit BobThurber.net.
I inspect the ledge as the instructor waits.
“I’m first!” an impatient voice behind me orders. He places one foot on the ledge.
He always has to be the first.
I watch him swing. Shocked, his eyes glance up; the knot unravels.
Gone in a second, he was the first.
Sarah Bell is a writer based in Seoul. Her work has appeared in The Huffington Post
“Time’s up.”
“What? No! I need to go back! Please!”
“Your life savings would give you… maybe a month. Sign here.”
*Frantic scribbling.* “Yes! Take it; just get me back there now!”
The pod clicked closed. The custom Virtuatopia and life support resumed.
“Now we can afford another pod. Excellent.”
Jason was inspired by dystopian literature and the science fiction short stories of Ray Bradbury. With virtual reality at the forefront of gaming technology, Jason wonders if simulations may end up being abused. Escaping reality can be quite addictive. On a more personal note, he is looking forward to high school graduation, attending UC Riverside, and perhaps taking a creative writing course there.
The dead sparrow behind the garbage barrel brought it all back. Vietnam, that letter from home about my first girlfriend. Suicide, it read, something about her husband and her sister.
But this damp spring evening we danced again, carried by the wind and the liquid trilling of a Wood Thrush.
Matthew lives and writes in Maine. He loves the cool evenings of spring, and first the wood thrushes, then later the loons.
He had been arrested and brought to the Precinct. In the cell he received a black eye in silence. Outside a crowd bayed for his blood. Inside a guard said, “We’re moving you for your own safety.”
As they entered the basement car-park Jack Ruby stepped forward and shot him.
Michael D Hill is a Londoner who has lived in Dorset for more than half his life. He enjoys reading, writing and breathing.
The story of the week for May 23 to 27 is…
Alien Nature by Patrick Yu
I love the speculative nature of this piece, and how open it is to interpretation. Plus I’m a sucker for poetic presentation.
I tried to avoid his eyes. They were intent. They questioned, but I had no answer.
I quietly slipped the wallet back into the pocket of his pants. Well worn, they had seen better days… But so had we.
I had known, without even looking, that the wallet was empty.
Susan Gale Wickes spent many years in the newspaper industry, but is now devoting her time and energy to writing poetry and short stories. She has been published in Haiku Journal, Sleeve, and 50-Word Stories.
The unveiling mysteries of motherhood: stages of intense transformation, from daughter to wife to mother. Entrances, exhilarations, exits; lively childhood memories, intoxicating teenage adventures, disoriented adulthood choices. Happiness, madness, sadness. Empty nested. A rejoicing feeling of accomplishment. Gratified facial expressions as they leave. Adjustments, introspective silence, fulfillment.
Another cycle begins.
Louise Emma Potter was born in the United Kingdom and brought up in Brazil. She has been in the education field for more than 20 years and is a material writer and teacher trainer. Her website is teach-in.com.br.