CHRISTA PLANKO: Unplugged, Recharged

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

She followed the blue-marked trail into the woods. Soon nature engulfed her. The deeper she got, the more distant her world.

Emails snagged on thorny brush. Ringtones faded into birdsong. Deadlines were trodden into the dirt.

She emerged, laptop still in the car, unplugged, yet her batteries were fully recharged.

Christa Planko, MA, is a professional writer with a passion for creative expression. She has had her poetry and short stories featured in several publications, including River Poets Journal, Tanka and Haiku Journal, Poetry Quarterly, and Every Day Fiction. Her story, “The Olde-Tyme Village,” won the 2021 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest. Christa resides in South Jersey with her feline muses.

KEVIN A RISNER: An Apocalyptic Easter Sunday, 2030, or Any Year After the Current One

Adventure, Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Chartreuse sky, intermittent lightning, air like the rock over Jesus’ tomb. I sit, hurricane in hand, sunglasses on, inhaler nearby, feet in plastic kiddie pool. Radio’s found the only frequency, R.E.M. fuzzy, the sole survivor. Man, this is living. The end of the world as we know it.

Kevin A. Risner is the author of Do Us a Favor (Variant Literature, 2021) and You Thought This Was Just Gonna Be About Cleveland, Didn’t You (Ghost City Press, 2022).

CAROL REEVES: Wisdom

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, Touching, ,

When I was young, I thought all birds sang, all plants bloomed, and all hearts loved.

Then I learned some birds are happy to quack, and ferns and mosses don’t bloom.

But even in the sunset of my days, I know a heart without love is no heart at all.

A prolific writer, Carol Reeves is loving the freedom and challenges of 50 word stories. Her memoir, “All the Little Miracles,” was published last year.

CHRIS LIHOU: Times Change

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

The wind caused the leaves to whisper. Whispers about times past when the trees could live without the threat of death by loggers. Times when the water course provided crystal clear drinking water for their roots. Times when copious salmon offered their spent bodies as nutrients. How times have changed.

Chris Lihou lives in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia. He is retired and having fun writing, including pieces of 50 word fiction.

SIMON KAEPPELI: Collapse

Adventure, Submissions, , ,

She woke up coughing. Her shaking hands pushed against a slippery surface in the dark. It readily gave way, followed by a soft clinking noise as the shards hit the floor. Silver dust glittered in the pale light as it slowly settled. Around her lay the other broken cryo tanks.

Simon Kaeppeli is a scientist and writer. He currently lives on the East Coast with his two senior cats.

LAURA BESLEY: One More Minute

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

Moira glances at the clock—it’s 11:59.

“Let’s meet at noon,” the letter said. Eighteen years she waited for that invitation.

She scans every face, searching for traces of her own.

Her legs begin to ache, her back stiffens.

Until she moves, there’s still time for her daughter to arrive.

Laura Besley is the author of (Un)Natural Elements, 100neHundred, and The Almost Mothers. She is also an editor for Flash Fiction Magazine. Having lived in the Netherlands, Germany and Hong Kong, she now lives in land-locked central England and misses the sea. She tweets at @laurabesley.

FIONA H EVANS: The Widower Next Door

Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

I add a dab of perfume to the letter telling you how I feel and slide it under your door. Two days later, you haven’t responded. I thought you’d grown fond of me over the last forty years. You must still mourn for Alice. I miss my best friend, too.

Fiona H Evans is a mathematician who writes what she feels. She lives in Western Australia, on Noongar Boodja. You can find her on Twitter at @FionaHEvans or at fionahevans.com.

BIANCA SANCHEZ: The Tale of an Unappreciated Clock

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Teenagers demand I tick faster; adults beg for me to tock slower.

Being a clock is a thankless job. I work all day, every day and I never sweat.

I quit. Without me, they’ll miss tests and meetings, burn their food.

They’ll learn to appreciate the time I give them.

Bianca is a writer living in San Diego. She has a BA in English from San Diego State University and currently works in publishing. Her work has appeared in 50-Word Stories, Every Day Fiction, and Mesa Visions Literary Journal.

ELIZABETH BIRD: Selfie

Adventure, Submissions, , ,

You gaze over the canyon, shimmering in vermilion and emerald under a sea-blue sky. More magnificent than you ever imagined.

Turning, arm raised, you seek the tilt for a perfect image. You step back.

Rescued from the rocks below, screen shattered in starburst, your phone froze your smile for eternity.

Elizabeth Bird is a retired Anthropology Professor, whose essays appear in Under the Sun (Readers’ Choice Award 2022), Tangled Locks, Biostories, Streetlight, Ariel’s Dream, Dorothy Parker’s Ashes, The Guardian, and elsewhere. She placed third in the 2022 International Human Rights Art Festival’s Creators of Justice Literary Awards.