I spin round and round until I can stand no longer. Sinking to the cushy grass, closing my eyes, twirling with the cosmos, I wish for my problem to disappear.
The earth stops moving; I open my eyes.
“Are you still here?”
The stray wags all over, licking my face.
Candace lives in Pennsylvania where she reads, writes poetry and short stories, and snaps photos.
The story of the week for November 23 to 27 is…
The Death of a Dream by Devon Widmer
Strong implied character building, emotional attachment, and a message worth hearing, all elements of a great story.
“Five hundred Reich marks.” I push the bills across the desk.
“Ha.” He smirks. “Five thousand, minimum. The coat, the rings, and that diamond necklace, too.” He points, eyeing my yellow star. “If you’d rather be shot, fine.” He shrugs. “There’s plenty who’d give anything for a chance to live.”
Clara Ray Rusinek Klein is bilingual in Spanish and English. She holds a BA magna cum laude in Political Science with a minor in Religious Studies. Ms. Klein is an internationally published creative writer and author and the founder and Editor in Chief of A Quiet Courage, an online journal of microfiction and poetry in 100 words or less. Her one-hundred-word story “Defector” was chosen as the winner of the April 2015 Photo Story prompt on 100 Word Story, and her one-hundred-word story “Ostdeutschland” was chosen as an Editor’s Pick on Postcard Shorts. For more information and a full list of current publications, visit clararayrusinekklein.wordpress.com.
I remember our hotel, how you always insisted on room service, how we waited until dusk before strolling hand in hand along the deserted beach, how you wore that silly hat.
I remember rushing to your side when you collapsed, sitting by your hospital bed, being introduced to your wife.
CR Smith is an eternal optimist who thinks life is for living and tries hard not to waste it.
It was the first time she had ever scared him.
She sparked the lighter, the jerk of her arm sending the sharp jag of petrol to his nose. Then she was engulfed.
He pounded on the flames with fear-numbed fists.
It was the last time he would ever beat her.
Stephen McQuiggan is proof of Intelligent Design; evolution could never explain how this useless lump of slobber and gristle still manages to draw breath, or what function it could possibly serve. His first novel, A Pig’s View Of Heaven, is available now from Grinning Skull Press.
Tragically, we found our cat dead in the garden, so we buried him beneath the pear tree, covering him with a stone.
But then three days later our cat returned.
There are only two options, I’ve deduced. Either we’re dealing with the cat messiah, or we buried someone else’s cat.
Nick lives in the West Midlands in England. By day he runs a small, independent fostering service; by night he writes 50-word stories and other flash fiction. Check out his blog.
At the age of nine, Kathy begged her parents for a silver jumpsuit, boldly declaring she was going to be a space explorer when she grew up.
But a single day spent dodging her classmates’ taunts banished that jumpsuit to the back of the closet, never to be worn again.
Devon R. Widmer, a graduate student in chemistry, is currently hard at work resuscitating her childhood dreams.
Breathless from her climb, Lisa straddled a high branch and gently rubbed her belly. She watched the elm’s shadow creeping across the church’s stained-glass. When the preacher said “Whoever has reason that these two should not be joined,” she would grip the tire-swing’s rope and leap, swinging out, shattering everything.
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”. Visit BobThurber.net.
The random coin Fred got in change at the coffee shop was so worn and grimy that he had to rub it vigorously with this thumb, hold it right up to his face, and squint to read the date.
Yep, that’s what he thought: the same year he was born.
John Sheirer is the author of several books for adults and children. His most recent is a book of alphabet poems called, The Alpha Dog Alphabet, featuring photos of his canine coauthor, Libby.
Gentle sounds of gulls and rhythmic waves echo in the heavens above, returning hauntingly to my ears, resounding in my heart.
Enchanted, I watch nature’s magnificence paint itself around me, glorious imperfections perfected with every brush-stroke.
Awakening, I see I too am a brush-stroke in life’s portrait.
My soul relaxes.
Lisa Lysen is having fun exploring her passion for words, hoping an adventure in writing may be somewhere in her future.