BOB THURBER: Babysitting Grandpa While Mommy Naps

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

When he woke, she asked about the cast and he said, “The moon fell on my foot.”

“No fooling,” she said.

He said he’d been reaching for the longest time.

“One day I touched it. I held it in my hand. But then I dropped it.”

“Silly grandpa,” she said.

Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.

YANG ZEFAN: The Cost

Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

My daughter’s teacher called me. “She drew everyone in the class. Except herself.”

Over dinner, I asked her why.

“Teacher told us to draw the future,” she said softly. “I heard you and mama last night.” She pushed the dumplings slowly across her plate. “How much do I cost, Baba?”

Yang Zefan lives in China. This is Yang’s first attempt at microfiction in English.

ED WALKER: Prickly

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

The window is giving me nice morning sunlight. I’m trying to enjoy some solitude and tranquility, while you bustle about, oblivious. The chilled room was quite awful enough, but the water and warmer nights will not force me into anything. I will bloom when the mood strikes, and not before.

After decades of nattering on about moving abroad, Ed Walker finally retired and bought a house in Catalunya, Spain. His work can be found in 50-Word Stories, The Arcanist, Blink-Ink and elsewhere.

BRADAN BLANCK: You

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

How long does it take to get to know someone? There are some people that you know the moment you meet them. Others surprise you years later.

Who are you?

Who am I?

I am the little voice inside your head.

You don’t know me as well as you think.

Bradan’s lifelong passion is writing. He is twenty-one years old and recently married to his wife, Addison Blanck. He is attending Colorado Mesa University and plans to graduate in the spring of 2027 with an accounting degree.

STEVEN HOLDING: Just Dessert

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

I’m Vanilla, lingering on sticky fingers, comfortably familiar.

She’s Viennetta, exotic mint choc chip flavour, craved daily, saved for special occasions.

I envy the amnesiac, forgetting significant events, how such treats taste celebrating another birthday. Who remembers death dates and correct funeral cake etiquette?

Left to melt; another Sundae service.

Steven Holding lives in the United Kingdom, where he writes because he has to. You can follow his work at www.stevenholding.co.uk.

NIN TIMBERS: While Her Brother Slept

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Hazel’s brother laughed because she could never find the circus elephants. Or even the Big Dipper. But when they camped in the treehouse, Hazel startled awake, her eyes full moons. A firecracker sky of iridescent stars floated between the branches. Reaching up, she swung, flickering into a violet shooting star.

Nin Timbers adores tiny stories, whimsy and big laughs.  Her stories can be found in 100 Word Story, Paragraph Planet and forthcoming in 101 Words.

JOZZIE STUCHELL VELESIG: My Mourning Routine

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

I spit toothpaste in the sink and dial a digit at a time. Numbers tied to pigtails and “can I come to stay?” Those not used enough while crossing college lawns. When adulthood came, the ones I called each morning. Ten-digits etched on my heart ring a final time today.

Jozzie Stuchell Velesig is a Harvard-trained writer and founding member of the Story Street Writers. For more information, visit jozziewrites.com or storystreetwriters.com.

ZOË RANDOLPH: Dress Up

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

He has no business draping me in his reassurance. He doesn’t have the facts. Can’t see, as I can, the endless ways life can unravel. Still, I luxuriate in his careless smile, his shrugging faith in a benevolent future. The confidence doesn’t fit, but my god he wears it well.

Zoë is an American writer living in London. She publishes fiction about her adopted city every Friday on her Substack.

CHARLOTTE KELLER: The Dirge

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

Much tiresome work amounted to his death, but insurmountable resilience plagued his life. Sobriety, marriage, fatherhood, entrepreneurship. Un-hating his father, un-resenting his step-mom, recanting needles, renouncing the man he was. Cancer ate away at him, but he couldn’t die alone—not my brother. We sing for you, Prince of Toledo.

Charlotte Keller is a writer from northwest Ohio. She is an MFA student at Western Michigan University and a poetry co-editor for WMU’s literary magazine, Third Coast. She has been published in The Periwinkle Pelican, Planet Venus, and ReCap Literary Magazine.