JAMES HESLIN: I’ll Take Care Of It

Artistic, Submissions, ,

She moves past you. You see pain.

He gets on, sits beside her. Both uncomfortable.

An awkward exchange, both speaking at once. He wants to “take care of it.” She acquiesces, nodding silently. He gives her his card.

He disembarks, then she.

You look at the seat. Paper scraps everywhere.

James loves Linux, gaming, and, apparently, fifty-word stories (who knew?). Find him at http://skynet.ie/~program9.

Editor’s Note: I’d love to hear other people’s interpretations of this story. I know what I think it means, but I think it could be understood in a lot of different ways, which is really cool. Offer your explanation by leaving a comment!

The Happies and the Slappies

Touching, , , , ,

Once there was a village of Happies. They loved life!

But the mean Slappies bullied the Happies until they became Unhappies.

One of the Happies awoke the wise Nappies. The Nappies gave some puppies to the Slappies, who loved them so much that they became Sappies.

Then everyone was happy!

I’m glad the Sappies are happy, but hanging out with them can be so uncomfortable. They just sit there and pet their puppies and make cooing noises and talk in baby voices and rub their noses on their puppies’ noses… Blech.

Priscilla the Independent Porcupine

Amusing, Odd, Touching, , , , , ,

Priscilla the porcupine kept a tidy house. She dusted regularly and opened the windows so she could smell the lavender in the garden.

Hers was an idyllic home.

On Tuesdays she flew a flag and shot at the tax man. The one thing Priscilla loved more than tidiness was freedom.

Normally I try to take prompts from different people, but when @MisterFiendZero gave me this prompt, along with the previous one, I knew I had to go with both.

Rory’s First Hunt

Odd, , , , ,

Slithering, sliding, slipping… Rory the ravenous raccoon eased his way through the gap under the newly painted fence with a patience that belied his urgency.

There! He was through, and scampering into the safety of the woods.

They found Elvis dead that morning. The orange paw prints were never reported.

This story was based on a prompt from @MisterFiendZero.

The Carrot and the Bo Staff

Amusing, Touching, , , ,

“Eat your rice pudding, young man!”

“I don’ wanna!”

“Eat it all up, or you won’t get any ninja turtles!”

“But Mooooooooooom…”

“I’ll tell the store to never let you have a Donatello ever!”

That did it. Little Billy ate rice pudding every day for the rest of his life.

MATTHEW TROTTER: In A Day

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , ,

“Sleep. Don’t cry. There is nothing you can do.

“They are gone, never to return. We cannot bring them back, and I am sorry, but you must live with that.”

That’s what she said, but today they died, and I will cry with the rain.

Today I am an orphan.

Matthew Trotter is 21 and lives where the wind carries him. He enjoys writing to pass time and reads as much as he can.

Anime

Odd, , , ,

“Ha!” scoffed Mr. Yugin. “My powers are at least three times greater than your own. Your most powerful attacks are as nothing to me!”

“Oh really? But you haven’t seen my most powerful attack yet!” said Guko with a grin.

“Whaaat!?!?” cried Mr. Yugin.

Guko raised his spirit-laser super sword.

Doing It Wrong

Amusing, Touching, ,

Was it left first, and then right, or was it right first? Hmm. Let’s try left first. Lift; swing forward; now what? Heel or toe? How was this thing supposed to bend?

No matter how much he practiced walking, Sully couldn’t help but feel that he was doing it wrong.

This story is based on a title suggested by @davefp.

Wallowing in the Wealth

Amusing, , , ,

It didn’t take long for Mr. McFitzwilliamson to prove that swimming in a pool full of coins didn’t work. A pool of twenty-dollar bills left him covered in paper cuts.

So he melted down all of his loonies and swam in that.

He’d never really understood the laws of thermodynamics.

This story was based on a title provided by @Vigafray.

B.R.A.T.

Amusing, , , , ,

He’d purchased the seventy-five foot yacht on a whim. With a fortune like his, such a toy was a trifle.

The first time he took it out, he “accidentally” ran over three sailboats and threw some lawyers overboard to handle it.

Bartholomew Regis Alberto Tanardier never thought about his initials.

@Charles_Mor told me to write a story about boats, so I did.