ALISON CARROLL: The Decision

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

She had tiptoed through life, always on the periphery of happiness, teetering precariously. The decision brought her peace.

It was not impulsive, but rather long contemplated. It quelled the voices.

She slid over the bridge railings, and as her body slammed into the water, the motorists continued busily on above.

Alison is an executive in a mental health agency. She knows that fostering hope is the most important element of treatment, and she witnesses recovery daily. The trauma of completed suicide continuously haunts her. This is her fourth 50-word story.

RACHEL BURNS: Customer Service

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

The waitress squared her shoulders and marched over. “Whatchuwant?” she asked.

He didn’t look up. Thick fingers anguished his thinning hair. “Just pie,” he said, head hung.

“Kind?”

“Pecan.”

Deafjerk didn’t even notice me, she thought, and spit—just a little—on her ex-husband’s slice before the dollop of cream.

Rachel Burns is a current student whose latest writing project is a chapbook collection of flash fiction and poetry.

MADELAINE WONG: At the Nursing Home

Submissions, Touching, ,

Drone of the television. A new life awaits if only she would color her hair or brighten her smile.

Each day older. Peer at the mirror. Who is that? Wrinkled face, tired eyes, sad lips.

Wait for the phone to ring. Wait for a visit. Each day closer to death.

Madelaine Wong won Freefall Magazine’s Chapbook contest in 2010. She has stories published in Dark Gothic Resurrected, Mused, Toska Magazine, and Shy, an Anthology. She is also the co-author of Cradling the Past, a Biography of Margaret Shaw. See more of her work at madelainewong.com.

JAMIE MURPHY: Father and Son, Part 2

Adventure, Submissions, , , ,

I approached the director from behind, apprehensively. I had ruined his play, injured one actor, and sent the crowd screaming from the theatre and the flames.

He sensed my approach and turned, his face a melting wax figure of tears and rage. “Son, he said, hands shaking, “that’s strike two.”

Jamie Murphy works for the Toronto Public Library.

GINNY GIRAUDI: The Potato Story

Amusing, Odd, Submissions, , , , , ,

As I was peeling potatoes one got away and hit the floor. It disappeared.

Einstein says when one object strikes another there is an infinitesimally small chance the vibrations of each will cause them to pass right through each other.

I checked, but the potato wasn’t in the basement either.

Ginny Giraudi is a science writer living in Mississauga.

CATHY DYER: Living Words

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

How is it some words seem to hang in the air? Once spoken, they develop a life of their own, their presence growing from a secret pondering to an ominous being, larger than anything else in the room.

I know what sustains them: the very breath sucked from shocked lungs.

Cathy is a temporarily out of work bookkeeper, taking a little time off to play in the fields of words and exercise the other half of her brain.

ROSEMARY BUSH: Some Honeymoon

Adventure, Submissions, , , , ,

I am crouching in rain, snapping spruce twigs to place them on my infant fire. He hadn’t checked my pockets, had missed the flint when he stole my gear.

Larger sticks next. First focus on defying death by hypothermia; then get my knife and his gun, and kill my husband.

Rosemary Bush is a scientist and writer living in Chicago.  Some of her work can be found at rosemarybush.org.

HOPE GLIDDEN: The Runaway

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

She packed their lunches, made their beds and started their dinner in the slow cooker. A lovely stew, seasoned with thyme and rosemary.

After her bags were packed and loaded into the god-awful minivan, she wondered if they would truly miss her. Or simply replace her with another obedient robot.

Hope Glidden is a paralegal by day and a sometimes-writer by not. She is most definitely not a robot.

STEVE COVERDALE: Contentment

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, , ,

The sky was radiant blue and waves were lapping on the shore. The warmth of the sun touched his face. He could see boats and dolphins.

Beautiful. He was content.

The warden slid open the hatch and looked in on the prisoner. He looked happy; the meds had kicked in.

Steve Coverdale is an Englishman living in Nova Scotia. He keeps trying to write short stories with a happy ending but keeps on getting dragged back to the dark side.

BRANDON BARROWS: Obsessive

Amusing, Submissions, Top Stories, , ,

She’d said, “You’re becoming obsessive.”

He wasn’t quite sure what she’d meant by that, but he was having a hard time letting it go.

He made a mental note to ask her about it as he shifted his weight, trying to get more comfortable in his spot behind the azaleas.

Brandon Barrows writes prose, poetry, and comic books. His story collections The Altar in the Hills (Raven Warren Publishing) and The Castle-Town Tragedy (Dunham’s Manor Press) are available from fine book retailers and his first novel is forthcoming. Find more at brandonbarrowscomics.com.