I visited the place of our first date. I stared at the back of a woman’s head, positive it was yours.
I remembered the back of your head well. I missed it.
She turned. It was you, and not. My image of you was different from the real you.
Relief.
Chris Wilkensen is a wandering English instructor. He is trying to figure out what he wants in life, while being careful not to let life pass him by. He has trouble winning both battles simultaneously.
She was soft and white, changed and transformed. I felt joy as I held her in my arms, and cuddled her as I danced along the street. I anticipated the moment when I could caress her downy cheeks.
It was wonderful to take my clean duvet home from the cleaners.
Anne Lever is recently retired and is a mature student at ChristChurch University in Canterbury.
Elizabeth reclined comfortably beside the still waters of her estate’s emerald lake. Her children laughed playfully on the grassy embankment as she smiled broadly.
“Time’s up!”
Elizabeth took off the visuset and drew in a breath of dank, carcinogenic air. Five minutes for a month’s wages, but so worth it.
David R. Schulze is an EMT/Commercial Actor, because that’s a logical combination.
Body and hands moisturized, scented in every crevice, she waited patiently for the proclamation of his love, the long awaited proposal of marriage.
As he took delivery of the Prosecco from room service, his mobile vibrated next to her on the table and a text from “Sarah” read: “You’re late”.
Linda Casper hails from Yorkshire and, after a long career as a high school teacher, she has recently begun to write and publish many short stories, poems, and travel articles. Linda has a keen interest in gardening and is a judge for Yorkshire in Bloom.
Despite his impeccable references, bitter experience had taught him female nannies were the preferred choice.
He crossed to number thirteen and knocked. The woman’s smile never faltered when he said he was there about the newspaper ad.
“Come in, Mister Rumpelstiltskin.”
He smiled sweetly as the door closed behind him.
B. Lee Draper lives in northern Australia where she teaches children for money and writes stories for love.
She leaned on me and cried, speech broken like her heart. I was her rock, but she needed softness, too.
Sympathy was all I could offer. Struggles for empathy rendered me near indifferent.
I embraced her, yet my heart felt nothing, still fearing heartbreak. Just a shoulder to cry on.
Jason realizes the faults in his stories after he submits them. His discouragement with his work upon further reflection caused him to pursue a career in computer science, with writing on the side.
The pool is small in diameter, but its water is solid black. Its emptiness echoes through me.
In my dreams I’m always a child, accidentally crashing my bike into the black water pond.
Now I stand at its edge as a fully grown man, and I’m ready to dive in.
Eric White is a student at Full Sail University, where he is pursuing a degree in creative writing. He loves all forms of storytelling, and one day plans to utilize his skills writing within the entertainment industry.
The door slammed. The baby screamed.
Karen could hear him crashing up the wooden stairs. The baby wailed from another room. “Please be quiet,” Karen whispered.
The door handle turned. She backed into the corner, her eyes never leaving the door. It swung open. She finally exhaled. It wasn’t him.
Jo Jenner is an accountant who has recently started writing short stories and is the process of editing her first novel. She lives on the south coast of England.
“Morning, class. Today, it will be your first course in evolutionary biology. You’ll learn about natural selection and the purpose behind it. As an example, we’ll focus on the importance behind choosing intelligence over stupidity to favor humanity’s survival. Any questions?”
“Professor?”
“Yes?”
“Why are there trapdoors under our desks?”
George S. Karagiannis was born in Thessaloniki, Greece, and is currently a PhD student at the University of Toronto in Canada. He enjoys writing science-fiction (in a non-professional capacity, so far) in the subgenres of hard science fiction, bizarro, and apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic settings.
There I stood at the perfect venue, wearing a perfect dress, waiting for a perfect ring. It should have been the perfect day.
But as I stood at the altar, I realized it was all wrong, because the perfect guy was sitting in the pews, a guest at today’s event.
Kelsey Binder is a high school student from southern Louisiana.