The story of the week for March 20 to 24 is…
Porch Pirate by Susan Gale Wickes
LEE HAMMERSCHMIDT: Sketchy I.D.
“That’s him!” Bernice Bearnaise said. “He held up the convenience store!”
Police Sketch Artist Nib Sienna looked at his just completed drawing. Tall pointy hat. Long white beard. Chubby cheeks and bulbous nose. More like garden statuary.
“You’re absolutely certain?” Nib asked.
“Positive,” Bernice said. “There’s no face like gnome!”
Lee Hammerschmidt is a Visual Artist/Writer/Troubadour. He is the author of the short story collections A Hole Of My Own, It’s Noir O’clock Somewhere, For Richer or Noirer, and Flash Wounds. Check out his hit parade on YouTube!
YOHO GABRY: The Ichthyander Project
The Ichthyander Project of Lord Haist was an utter failure. Both the dismissal of his Supreme Council as well as the failure to grow the gills foretold in the Triton Prophesy despite his years-long diet of annelid worms and marine snails earned him the unfortunate nickname of Slimy Marine Muncher.
Yoho Gabry is a medical student who writes fiction as a hobby. He likes science fiction, fantasy, horror and romance.
AMANDA LE ROUGETEL: Of cheese and trumpets and love
Young Gloria wrote stories while her dad Bob played the trumpet. His music did not feed her; dinner was plastic-cheese on white bread. Every day.
Older Gloria still writes, now eats brie on a baguette for breakfast, while her lover Stanley plays the trumpet. His music feeds her. Every day.
Amanda Le Rougetel doesn’t mind being short and really likes writing short-form stories. She blogs at fiveyearsawriter.blogspot.com and teaches through writingastool.ca.
ILONA RAPIN: The Olive Tree
A thousand year-old gnarled and twisted olive tree stands on the Mediterranean hilltop, symbolizing friendship and peace. A silent witness to the rise and fall of empires and civilizations, she extends her olive branches. Reaching, her silvery green leaves rustle in the wind, sending whispers of hope, gestures of peace.
Ilona Rapin is addicted to the curiosity and excitement of wandering the world which inspires her to write short stories about her impressions.
FRANK NJUGI: In the Attic of Our Old House
My sister urges me to collect weevils, their tentacles becoming a curio for hands that would otherwise be a cataract of tremors. She herself creates an origami butterfly, a succinct subject of focus, while we are metamorphosed into raccoons in this attic, fleeing parents who have transformed into bickering bellbirds.
Frank Njugi is a Kenyan Writer and poet who primarily writes poetry and short fiction. He tweets as @franknjugi and you can find his published works at https://linktr.ee/Frank_njugi.
SUSAN GALE WICKES: Porch Pirate
Bob prided himself in avoiding video surveillance.
Perused the premises prior to approaching any property.
He took great pains to assemble original and creative disguises.
And then: he just opened the packages and left them on the porch.
He didn’t consider himself a thief… Just a man who loved surprises.
Susan Gale Wickes is a writer from Indiana. In addition to writing short stories, she writes greeting card verses and enjoys the fun of cartoon captioning.
GABRIEL CROMMIE: Grandma
Grandma says she’s going to die. We both know she’s too strong to die soon. She laughs when I tell her that. She doesn’t know I’m sucking out her knowledge for when life gets bad. I wish she could know all her pain was worth it. At least for me.
Gabriel Crommie is a young writer and filmmaker living in Brooklyn NY.
ROB WALTON: Citrus
He paces on the cliff edge, wearing Dave’s leathers, not wanting to look over but feeling the need to. He touches the lemon candy that’s been stuck inside the pocket for eighteen months. He can always conjure the smells of motorbikes and citrus, but no longer the smell of Dave.
Scunthorpe-born Rob Walton lives in Whitley Bay, England. Short fiction and poetry for adults and children appears in various places. Micro-fiction in Blue Fifth Review, Gravel and 101 words in the USA, Flash Frontier (New Zealand), and various UK publications. This Poem Here (Arachne Press). Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
JOANNE BOWERS: Treatment
At home her fully grown children caused constant stress. Here in her hospital bed she could rest. Though sore and afraid, she appreciated the nursing care, the nearest in years she’d felt to a caress. Her tears were as much about the life she’d led as it being under threat.
Joanne Bowers lives in England and likes reading and writing microfiction.