He shook Emma side to side to wake her up.
“Wake up, it’s Christmas! Wake up. It’s another day for growing old!”
She was colder than ever.
He melted a tablet of cocoa and wore pleated pants.
Holding a cup of chocolate, he realized he needed to grow old alone.
Alex Alvarez wants to be a writer and not just someone who writes. She’s now slaving away in the field of science. More of her works at http://alexandralvarez.wordpress.com/
Today is Tuesday, and you are cold. I curl up behind you and nuzzle your ear. I remember when we were young and stupid and immortal, before the doctors, before the sentencing. In the sunlight your skin feels alive. I breathe, smell your scent.
Please don’t leave me here alone.
Rio Santisteban is a college student living in New York City. She writes because she can’t possibly do anything else.
Did you ever just stare up at the night sky? Jeez, it’s beautiful.
I wish my girl was here, I really do.
They were mouthing off, I told ’em to go to hell. Big mistake.
The stars are getting blurry.
I don’t wanna be found with tears in my eyes.
Simon is a voice over artist and short story writer based in London, England.
“…So, between emigration and attrition, our population has been in steady decline, damaging our international image. That’s why today we’re announcing a moratorium on death.”
The press clamoured. “Ma’am! Ma’am! How can you possibly enforce this new policy?”
The president waved her hand dismissively. “Pharmaceutical bailouts and creative book-keeping, mostly.”
This story was based on the prompt “moratorium” at TypeTrigger.
Death is an unsettling experience. The sudden weight-loss, poor circulation and depression has been known to drive many victims of death into suicidal states and impractical levels of homesickness.
Experts on the often fatal condition recommend emergency surgical obliteration of the brain as the most effective and efficient known cure.
Since his last submissions, Gavin has been writing for his local University and upholding a (mostly) weekly blog of his writings. He is quietly contented with life.
The ghostly spectre silhouetted against the dark window sighed, the symptom of Death’s long-suffering passion.
Inside, cold breaths rattled through the lungs of Enid Westerhapf, 112 years old and at long last preparing to die.
Having awaited her for so long, Death finally welcomed her to stand by his side.
This story was based on a title provided by Master Gunner.
“Whoa, stop right there, bud.”
“I BEG YOUR PARDON.”
“You’ve got to wait your turn. Adolescence and young adulthood only just passed by. Middle age is up next.”
“BUT THERE’S ROOM TO FIT MY BICYCLE IN RIGHT THERE.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but in the parade of life, Death rides last.”
This story is based on a title suggested by @GreatTrollKing.
Bottles, half-alive mounds of clothing, sauce-stained plates, and dead cigarettes groan in a growing sea of torment. His children scream eerily, tearing round. Insane frenzy.
(Neighbors whisper. Shiftless.)
Blue eyes vacant, he sits in the wreckage, thinking of how she looked like a blooming tea rose before the casket shut.
Constance is addicted to writing, getting her inspiration from abandoned houses, panthers, and peanut butter.
“Look, Pa! A dead rat!”
“Lemme see, Gerald,” said Pa. “Ah, it’s only a skellington and a bit of skin. Musta died a long time ago. Funny how nice he’s sittin’, like he went out calm and peaceful. Makes you wonder, kinda.”
Deep inside Ratankhamen’s corpse, a long-preserved soul-spark flared.
In a Brooklyn apartment complex, she’s one anonymous echo among many. She doesn’t know anyone’s name. One day, she finds a dead ant outside her door. She wonders how it survived in a world where everything was bigger than it. She gives it a name. She feels very large.
Kyle Hemmings is the author of three chapbooks of poems: Avenue C (Scars Publications), Fuzzy Logic (Punkin Press), and Amsterdam & Other Broken Love Songs (Flutter Press). He has been pubbed at Gold Wake Press, Thunderclap Press, Blue Fifth Review, Step Away, and The Other Room. He blogs at http://upatberggasse19.blogspot.com.