Fila stared at the map, tracing the 800 miles that lay ahead. Mules hitched, wagon loaded, farm sold. Nothing of home, of him, remained, save the shotgun he’d carried to the barn that day. She’d keep the shotgun as a reminder when memories of love and life wanted back in.
Susan Hunt is a retired developmental editor and technical writer. She writes for herself these days, imagining other lives in other times. She thinks that 50-words are just about enough for her attempts at fiction.
A student said she wanted “a next egg”. Next egg. Expresso. Arlene had sacrificed oceans of cappuccinos to build her now-crushed 401(k). Now what?
“Why do we call it ‘nest egg’? What thoughts and feelings go with those words?” Arlene asked and, like Patience on a monument, waited for answers.
Miriam N. Kotzin writes fiction and poetry. She is the author of five collections of poetry, two collections of short fiction, and two novels—most recently the novel Right This Way (Spuyten Duyvil). Her 50-word stories have been published in 50-Word Stories, 50 Give or Take, and Blink Ink. She teaches literature and creative writing at Drexel University.
It takes sixty-three days to whelp a puppy. Do that every few months and you’ve got yourself a pack. I’d be the leader, of course, padding after them, teaching them to say I love you. If you were here I’d show you. If you were here, though, I wouldn’t need to.
Cheryl Snell writes as revenge against reality. That’s her story and she’s sticking to it.
I was born six weeks premature. I got good grades but I left school before graduating. I’ve always had trouble holding a job for any length of time.
Consequently, paying bills was often a problem.
I topped out at 5 foot 3.
That’s my life in a nutshell. 49, 50.
This 50-word story was distilled down by Robert Carlberg from a 17-volume 1,460,000 word massive opus written over a span of 23 years. No it wasn’t.
“Looks like an alien,” my son said of the horseshoe-crab shell: translucent, fragile, dwarfed by his palm.
“You’re not wrong. They evolved in a world different from ours.”
“Shouldn’t we clean it up?” he wondered of the carapace-littered beach.
“Let the waves take care of everything. How about ice cream?”
Tim Boiteau is a Writers of the Future winner and Editor at Every Day fiction. He is the author of the novel The Nilwere (Grendel Press, 2024).
The story of the week for April 28 to May 2 is…
Swimming by Melanie Winklosky
and
Eye of the Beholder by Alicia Cox
The day of the move, I watch you crouch by a box.
Maybe nostalgia is a play of light. Maybe it’s denial. Either way, it’s embedded in your every move, the way you handle old letters—eyes soft, unfolding each one like a secret and saying, “Oh, I remember this.”
A Turkish writer, Sarp Sozdinler has been published in Electric Literature, Kenyon Review, Masters Review, Vestal Review, Fractured Lit, and 100 Word Story, among other journals. His stories have been selected or nominated for such anthologies as the Pushcart Prize, Best Small Fictions, and Wigleaf Top 50. See more at sarpsozdinler.com.
The sound of eggshells cracking echoed across the room. The sizzling bacon in the pan was soon joined by the eggs as the man hurried around the kitchen.
His wife takes a seat at the table and her eyes tear up. “You have made an extra serving again,” she whispered.
Omar Rihas is travelling the land of words, seeking to find stories and tales that bring wonder and comfort. Literature fascinates him and he is constantly on the hunt for new and exciting things.
Fireworks finale—a descending canopy—envelops them. “Whoa!” Her five-year-old’s hand, she holds. Through his eyes, awestruck, she watches. Her husband’s forced-enthusiastic presence, this moment excludes.
Faraway pops-and-crackles, she hears from her bed. That little hand, she misses. Her now-adult son will hold her hand when she needs, she trusts.
Motherhood and writing are two things Shanti Chandrasekhar finds most rewarding and fulfilling. She writes from her home in Maryland.
A flick of the wrist brings a new page, new number, possible new beginnings. Can one calendar page make me a year older? Does it matter? Admitting to the day might result in friendly celebrations or freebies from businesses trawling for customers. Others don’t need the real numbers. Do they?
Eileen comes from a family that puts great store in celebrating birthdays, even during the pandemic.