PAUL LEES-HALEY: Mama’s Boy

Amusing, Odd, Submissions, , , ,

I didn’t object when Mom took me to the shrink. I’m a good son.

I answered all his questions truthfully.

The doctor told Mom it’s worrisome, my playing with fire and torturing small animals.

I reassured her. Those are symptoms for small boys. They don’t apply now that I’m forty.

Paul Lees-Haley used to be a psychologist and will be again when they let him out. His work has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, The Alabama Writers Conclave’s Alalitcom, Voices, G/C/T, Hypertrophic Literary, CoEvolution Quarterly, Trial, Spectrum, and numerous psychological and legal journals and magazines.

ALISON COOPER: S.O.S.

Adventure, Amusing, Submissions, Top Stories, , , , , , ,

Traps are everywhere. We cannot venture out. We are cornered in this house we called home before the enemy showed its face.

All exits are blocked. Food supplies are dwindling. This is war.

Last night he chased us behind the refrigerator with a broom. Called us vermin.

We are doomed.

Alison Cooper is a UK artist residing in Los Angeles. She loves the challenge of culling words to get to the core, and has had her short stories published in Everyday Fiction and 50-Word Stories.

STEPHEN DANIELS: Shuffle

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

When she caught us, Louise stared at me with a kitchen knife in her hand.

In an act of defiant retribution, she picked up her phone and pressed play. Celine Dion – My heart will go on. Of all the songs to die to…

She knew how much I hated it.

Stephen sometimes writes poems and strangely murderous flash fictions. Find him at stephenkirkdaniels.com.

CAROL BROWNE: Place Setting

Amusing, Submissions, , ,

The farmer saw his daughter halfway down a hole in the ground. “What are you doing, child?”

“The badgers are having a tea party, Dad. They’re expecting me.”

He tutted at this childish fantasy, dragged his daughter away.

Below, father badger consulted his watch. “Think we’d better start without her.”

Carol Browne first appeared on the planet in 1954. She regards Crewe, Cheshire, as her home town and graduated from Nottingham University in 1976 with an honours degree in English Language and Literature. She is a contracted author at Burning Willow Press.

JOHN H DROMEY: Upfront Recommendation

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

A couple of football fanatics met in a sports bar.

“What have you been up to lately?”

“I’ve been advising a friend about some possible drawbacks of going for the two-point conversion.”

“Is he a quarterback with an important game coming up?”

“No. She’s a cheerleader thinking about getting implants.”

John H. Dromey has had short fiction published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Betty Fedora, Stupefying Stories Showcase, and elsewhere.

WILLIAM SHAW: Germination

Amusing, Odd, Submissions, , , , ,

Chlorophyll implants had been a mistake. Jailbreaking them probably hadn’t helped either.

Leaves sprouted all over my body. Hair fell away like dead foliage as pink flowers started blossoming out of my skull.

When I first noticed, I was rooted to the spot.

How long before that was literally true?

William Shaw is a student, blogger, and amateur journalist. You can follow him on Tumblr at themadmanwithablog.tumblr.com or on Twitter at @Will_S_7.

DENNY E MARSHALL: Amy’s Boyfriend

Odd, Submissions, , , ,

Amy’s boyfriend never physically abuses her, but the emotional abuse is constant.

One night in the kitchen, Amy snaps after a relentless barrage of name-calling. She takes a long knife out of the holder and stabs him repeatedly.

Amy is in shock as she sees sparks coming from exposed wires.

Denny E. Marshall had had art, poetry, and fiction published, including recent fiction at 101 Words. See more at dennymarshall.com.

MARY STEER: Miss Match

Submissions, Touching, , ,

Alone again herself, she saw the loneliness of others. Stray mittens and gloves in parking spaces, on snowbanks and sidewalks.

She brought them home, washed and dried them, wore them as others wear mismatched socks.

Now when she claps her hands the soft thick sound makes her broken heart glad.

Mary Steer is a word nerd living west of Toronto, where she works and reworks stories from life and imagination. When she’s not writing or editing, she likes to dabble in physics (knitting) and chemistry (baking).

BOB THURBER: Rapunzel’s Routine

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

The upkeep was never-ending; it took a week to wash, a week to dry, a week to comb, a week to braid; just so she could dangle it out the window for an afternoon, like a fishing line among the thorns, a temptation to witless boys spying from the brambles.

Over the years Bob Thurber’s work has received a long list of awards and prizes. His most recent book is a collection of brief stories titled “Nothing But Trouble”. Visit BobThurber.net.