Tag Archives: Donald A. Ranard

DONALD A RANARD: At the Hospital

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

It was next to him on the nightstand, still open, the one thing he always had with him—his Swiss Army knife.

“Can you take it?” my mother said after we’d packed everything else. “I can’t.”

I stood there staring at it, unable to take it, unable to close it.

Donald A. Ranard’s writing has appeared in 50-Word Stories, 100 Word Stories, The Atlantic, Gargoyle, Litro, The Washington Post, Every Day Fiction, and many other publications. His one-act play, ELBOW. APPLE. CARPET. SADDLE. BUBBLE., was named one of three finalists in Veteran Repertory Theater’s 2021 playwriting contest. Based in Arlington, VA, he has lived in 10 countries in Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

DONALD A RANARD: ICU

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, Touching, , , ,

When the dreaded thing happened, a strange feeling of calm came over her. Yes, they might put her in ICU, surrounded by beeping machines and strangers in hazmat suits. She might end up on a ventilator. Or, worse, she might not.

But she would no longer be completely, utterly alone.

Donald A. Ranard’s writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Every Day Fiction, Flash Fiction Magazine, 100 Word Story, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and elsewhere.

DONALD A RANARD: The War Hero

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

You can do this, he told himself. He repeated three times the three sentences he would recite to himself while on patrol: I am a warrior of courage. I train in the middle of the fire. I go to the places that scare me.

Then he climbed out of bed.

Donald A. Ranard’s writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Flash Fiction Magazine, 100 Word Story, Byliner, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and elsewhere.