January, 2016 Archives

28
Jan

Short Stay

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Will void sentience awareness curiosity self-analysis love playfulness creativity light dark space time experimentation dimension expansion wavelengths colour tedium inspiration matter form reflection ardour construction cells cuboids spherical conical diversity modelling progression design labour concoction expression explosion execution abundance adaptation combination permutations perpetuation? propagation? reproduction hormones sexual asexual vegetative genitalia gametes stamen anther seeds apomixes clones rhizomes bulbs stolons roots tubers tillers ovulation meiosis mitosis burgeoning blossoming spreading consuming nurturing developing instinct intelligence appreciation pleasure expectation acceptance presumption arrogance domination hedonism assumption egocentricity selfishness ownership covetousness idolatry aggression devaluation murder consolidation disparity prejudice condemnation humiliation reaction amplification obliteration void Will.

From Guest Contributor Perry McDaid

27
Jan

Cut And Paste

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Screen Shot 2016-01-27 at 12.51.14 AM

Today’s story has a special format, and so we had to take a photo to insert it. Enjoy!

Barry O’Farrell is an actor who sometimes writes, living in Brisbane, Australia.

Barry’s stories have appeared in Cyclamens & Swords, The Flash Fiction Press, 50-Word Stories, 101 Words and of course here at A Story In 100 Words. One of Barry’s short stories was runner up in the 2015 Arts Alliance competition.

22
Jan

If You Climb, Fall

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

There was a wound-dresser in the forest, somewhere deep, maybe sleeping in the sticky tree hollow that still sometimes holds nesting dolls and eggs, tiny gifts, talismans, things we know matter, twin feet in this world and the other. So, when you came, under sun, scabs freshly bloomed, populating your back’s nude surface, to announce what the branches had left when you slid their surfaces from canopy to ground, I handed you a ticket for the woods and we left together, closing each door behind, certain that another Carthage burns softer the closer we come to any shore at all.

From Guest Contributor Kelli Allen

Kelli is a four-time Pushcart Prize nominee and has won awards for her poetry, prose, and scholarly work. She served as Managing Editor of Natural Bridge and holds an MFA from the University of Missouri St. Louis. She is the director of the River Styx Hungry Young Poets Series and founded the Graduate Writers Reading Series for UMSL. She is currently a Professor of Humanities and Creative Writing at Lindenwood University. Allen is the author of two chapbooks and one flash fiction collection. Her full-length poetry collection, Otherwise, Soft White Ash, arrived from John Gosslee Books in 2012 and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

20
Jan

Family Portrait

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

I held her dainty hand, her fragile bones hidden deep within her withering skin. Her once cerulean eyes, now slate-grey from worries of not knowing, look at me longingly as if I had all the answers. Her time was slipping, and that’s what she wanted; to be with her Papa… her Mama… her Mamoo… I wish she could remember; the stories she told… her children’s names… me… I opened the photo album on my lap. She smiled down at the pictures. “What a beautiful family you have.” My eyes fixated on her, wishing she could remember… they’re her family, too.

From Guest Contributor McKenzie A. Frey

19
Jan

A Centuplicate Of Cosmic Horror

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

The audience sat, rapt, as the medium paced the stage before them, one finely-manicured hand cupped to his ear. “I’m picking up a name.” The crowd ooo-ed. “Does anyone here know a…sorry, can’t quite catch it.” He frowned in concentration. “Kuh- two…?” An impressed murmur swept the auditorium. “Too…too…Lou?” He scrunched his eyes up. A dimness began to beset the cheaper seats in the balcony. “Kuh-too-lou. Does anyone here, ladies and gents, have a loved one of that name who-” A rushing wind drowned his last words. The lights went out. Someone, or some thing, screamed.

From Guest Contributor Matt Thompson

18
Jan

Nereus’s Daughter

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

One day a pretty forest nymph, who soundlessly slumbered in her woods, awoke to find a disheveled ape hovering above her. Sweating. Grunting. Drooling. About to dock between her meaty, leggy things.

The nymph screamed and clawed at the god’s eyes, shouting at Priapus to stop or else she “would tell her father.”

In response, Priapus merely hit the ground beside her head with a curled up fist, hooting in laughter.

Nereus’s daughter saw no other option but to ask a kinder god than Priapus for assistance. Not twenty seconds after, the nymph turned into a flowering pink lotus tree.

From Guest Contributor Eliot Gilbert

14
Jan

Kitchen Of The Future

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Jack Masterton placed a smooth red potato in a clear plastic box and
pressed a button.

Tens of microbots crawled out of a chute and onto the potato. Jack
watched their coordinated dance, each microbot leaving behind a
straight white line exposing the starchy flesh.

Stage two. The microbots circled between the potato and an exit chute,
each carrying a tiny ball of peel which they flung in the chute. Each
then returned to the potato.

Stage three. Jack removed the perfectly peeled potato from the box and
smiled to himself. Amazing that people once used a knife for this.

From Guest Contributor Ross Clement

13
Jan

Abraham Lincoln Watching Django Unchained For The First Time

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

The producers were expecting some strong reactions as the movie reached its climax. The violence was among the most graphic they had ever seen. But when their star guest collapsed, all the executives fell into a stunned silence.

“Is he all right?”

One of the marketing interns knelt to feel his pulse. “His heart has stopped.”

No one thought to call a doctor. The cover up began immediately.

“Luckily, he was shot just a few weeks after we picked him up. History shouldn’t be too affected.”

Everyone nodded in agreement but, in true Hollywood fashion, it was just wishful thinking.

12
Jan

Fresh Start

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

“That didn’t work, nor this,” Nancy said striking out rows on her list.

A friend called. “How’s the dieting going?”

“What dieting?” Nancy answered.

“I’ve started,” April said. “No carbs. Only healthy eating.”

Nancy sighed. “What’s the point? You’ll be packing on pounds at Valentine’s, then Easter. Why start now?”

“It’s a new year, Nancy. I’m overweight. So are you.”

“I’d rather be happily plump.”

“You still have time before the next new year if you start planning now. Chinese New Year starts on February 8th.”

“I love Chinese. Won’t see me starving at a Dim Sum.”

“Neither will I.”

From Guest Contributor Krystyna Fedosejevs

Krystyna writes poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Her work has been published at: Nailpolish Stories, 50-Word Stories, 100 word story, 101 Words, Boston Literary Magazine, From the Depths (Haunted Waters Press), ShortbreadStories, SixWordMemoirs, and Espresso Stories.

11
Jan

Jim Bridger Watching The Revenant For The First Time

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Jim Bridger stood up after the show and spat a great stream of tobacco on the ground. He would generally have aimed at the spittoon, but this theater didn’t have one.

“What did you think?”

Bridger considered a few moments before answering. “It weren’t anything like what really happened.”

“But did it at least capture the general atmosphere?”

“No.” The producers huddled nervously, expecting Bridger would say more.

“If it’s all the same to you I’d like to go back now.”

“But we went through all the effort to build a time machine and bring you here.”

Bridger just shrugged.