MICHAEL J MORAN: They’re Just Men

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

Jim was attending his first major league baseball game. From his upper level seat he could see them in the dugout: Mickey, Yogi, Whitey.

For a brief moment he was disappointed. They weren’t the mythical electronic figures that had filled his television screen. They were just men in baseball uniforms.

Michael J. Moran is a retired university professor living in Alabama. Leaving behind the drudgery of writing scientific articles and text books, he now writes short stories and flash fiction pieces reflecting the people and culture of the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania where he grew up.

THOMAS SUMMERSON: The Game

Adventure, Submissions, , , ,

I was hanging from the ledge because of a clumsy misstep. It was my last case, and most important. I was retiring after twenty years as a detective and five pursuing this man.

He pulled me up and uttered words that changed me forever.

“The game is all I have.”

Thomas Summerson is a daydreamer and storyteller. He writes everyday, as work and family life allows, of course. He dreams and labors toward the day when he can leave the day job behind and write full time. “Twenty years of schoolin’ and they put ya on the day shift” It’s true Bob, it’s so true.

GREG GUEVARA: Wanted

Amusing, Submissions, , ,

Wanted: Body parts for use in scientific experiment. Must be in good condition and properly conduct electricity. Any parts from all ethnicity and sexes accepted. Compensation will be provided via anonymous envelops. Please deliver to the laboratory at the base of the stormy castle. Kindly address to one Mr. Frankenstein.

Find more of Greg Guevara’s work at inbreak.ca.

JASON HUYNH: Movie Casualty

Amusing, Submissions, ,

An ant scuttled onto the movie set, a chase scene rolling.

The antagonist, in his haste, crushed the innocent bystander, an unintentional victim.

Life flashing before him, the insignificant ant thought of the cruel-humored lie the movie credits might show: “No animals were harmed in the making of this film.”

Jason needs to get on with his homework: explicating poetry. With this submission also missing crucial points in a plot outline, he is glad that programming basic, random computer simulations is much easier. RIP ant.

MICHAEL MORRISON: Stock

Submissions, Touching, , , ,

I finally open it and pull out the letter. Enough’s enough.

I’d waited 392 days. Hadn’t moved, the clock stayed stopped.

You said everything you knew about us, everything you would carry with you to your next love, everything you lost sleep over, was in this letter.

The sheet’s blank.

Michael Morrison is a musician and writer from Edinburgh. His short stories are usually inspired by overheard snippets of conversation, local news headlines, and the day-to-day tales we tell ourselves and others.

BETH TILLMAN: Bedtime Scents

Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

Mother in evening dress and mink hugs me. Chanel No. 5 and a hint of dead animal deliver separation.

Her hand stroking my face bestows Jergen’s lotion, a thread of connection as she closes the door.

Alone in bed, I stargaze and clutch Snoopy, whose fur smells only of me.

Beth keeps her Winnie-the-Pooh blanket in her safe deposit box next to a Confederate dollar bill.  You can find her blog at www.sideglimpses.com.

DANIEL WILSON: Two Souls

Artistic, Submissions, , , , , , ,

Two souls waited to be born.

I will be a beautiful girl, said the first, born into wealth.

I will be a lonely boy, said the second, abused and abandoned.

But why? asked first.

Because I’ll learn more in my few years of hardship than in your lifetime of privilege.

Daniel Wilson lives in the foothills of North Carolina with his wife and children.

ED BASWELL: Angel on the Bayou

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

On a summer night in the bayou, I wade through dark, brackish water for a rendezvous with my angel. The calm, silent water reflects the moon like a looking glass. Shimmering and magnetic, she draws me toward her in the moonlight, beckoning me, like a child to a candy shop.

Ed Baswell is a 40-something writer originally from Asheville, North Carolina, now residing in Southern California. Primarily a trainer and curriculum developer in the aerospace industry, Ed is trying to hone his creative writing skills.

MARIAN BROOKS: Hibernation

Submissions, Touching, , ,

I hibernated through January.

Not one for excursions in the first place, I preferred not to move about at all except to keep my daily appointments in front of the TV.

I’m indifferent to the counsel of others who say, “Get over it.” I’m too busy being lonely without you.

Recently retired, Marian Brooks has begun to write some short fiction. Her work has appeared in Word Riot, The Linnet’s Wings, The Story Shack, Bleed Anthology and others.

ADAM B RANDALL: Forgotten Promises

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , ,

Her eyes closed as her chest slowly fell. A tear fell from the corner of my eye.

Relief fell upon my shoulders, yet overwhelming sadness burdened my heart.

I, too, was lost for air. The liar, I thought.

You promised. You swore to me I could close my eyes first.

Adam Randall is a 22-year-old amateur writer. Other than that he’s not very interesting.