Tommy is choking on his hotdog, his face growing blue in the rear-view mirror. I pull up onto the green and grab him from his booster seat. I slap his back, hard, the chewed-up wiener falling onto the rubber car mat.
“Dad,” Tommy cried, breathing, “I wanted to eat that!”
Sam Brown is an author based in East London. He released his first book at age 22.
She invited every single, childless, widowed, estranged acquaintance to a pot-luck celebration. Thirty strangers arrived at her studio apartment clutching favorite Thanksgiving dishes from their childhood: tandoori turkey, shakshouka, pumpkin empanadas, green-bean casserole. They dined cross-legged on pillows, a laughing gaggle of utensils reaching across plates, birthing a new family.
Phyllis Rittner writes poetry, flash fiction and creative non-fiction. Her work can be found in Roi Faineant Press, Emerge Literary Journal, Versification, Sparks of Calliope, Gyroscope Review and others. She is a member of The Charles River Writing Collective and can be reached on Facebook at facebook.com/phyllis.rittner.
There were those strange ripples again. Steve poked his head above water to investigate.
Tiny creatures in a tiny wooden vessel greeted him with shouts of “KRAKEN!” (Their word for hello, Steve surmised.) He returned their hospitality by giving the vessel a hug.
Whoops, thought Steve. Hope they can swim.
David Dezell Turner is an astrodynamics PhD student at the University of Colorado Boulder. When he isn’t giving directions to real spaceships, he’s probably writing about fictional ones. Check out more of his work at daviddezellturner.com/
We’ve studied them for centuries and it is always the same! No matter where they go, no matter what they do, they wreak havoc. You’d think they would learn, but oh, no! Befoul their own feeding ground, waste what is freely given, and then steal the rest. Humans! They’re Everywhere!
Michael Theroux continues to write and submit from his office in Northern California. He is well underway in a transition from decades of developing and publishing techno-science & socio-political works toward publication of poetry and fiction. Ah, the World of Journals and Presses! Much to learn; much more satisfying…
Clark’s fingers brushed titles by Natalie’s beloved Lowcountry authors. He browsed the library’s aisles, inhaling book fragrances and sensing traces of her. Literature. Lavender.
Clark approached the librarian. “Library card, please?”
Instead of golfing, Clark returned home and placed his books on Natalie’s empty night stand. He read through midnight.
Jennifer Smith is a retired elementary school speech-language pathologist. She writes stories inspired by her small town southern life. Residing in Rock Spring, Georgia, Jennifer enjoys walking in beautiful places and listening to audiobooks.
A swimming pool walked into my office
Off the deep end
Drowning in defeat
You must crawl first then walk
We will find coping strategies
Are you crying, maybe chlorine reddens your eyes?
More sessions to come
A swimming pool walked into my office
I’ve started to dig the hole.
Kelsey Mathias wrote this story.
The story of the week for November 6 to 10 is…
Medicinal by Meg Pokrass
His kisses were phony but I ate them. They tasted like lemon curd. Light yellow and British, dainty, not mass-produced.
Good stuff, I said to myself. Like some rare, misunderstood wine or small batch absinthe. What Alice sipped in order to grow small. Sipping rabbit shadows all the way down.
Meg Pokrass is the Series Co-Editor of Best Microfiction. Her new collection, The First Law of Holes: New and Selected will be published by Dzanc Books.
You caught your first salmon in the Nome River. You were so proud. I glimpsed the man you were becoming when you spoiled your perfect fish to save my favorite lure.
We never dreamed it would be your last time… playing on a dredge, swimming in icy water, playing guitar.
Cate Covert hails from sunny Idaho, U.S.A. She has been telling stories since she could talk. She is a gardener and amateur herbalist, plays guitar and piano, and loves baking bread and making beaded jewelry. Most of all, Cate Covert loves to engage her reading and listening audiences. You can read her frequent inspirational writings, poetry, flash fiction, and humorous stories at Cate Covert on Chadashah.org or her Inspirational essays and bible studies at Pastora Cate’s Corner on Substack.
Each day’s first word, mumbled from habit, meant far more than its sleep-addled reply. Hearing each other’s voice was a welcome-back from our overnight travels, though our bodies had remained just inches apart.
She’s gone now, for eternity, but while making my side of the bed I still ask, “Howdjasleep?”
Stephen Tilden is retired and living in Brooklyn.