May, 2017 Archives

30
May

Nothing To Spare

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Yours? Mine? Arguments. Ideologies differ. Attempt to build bridge between us. Links missing. Structure collapses. Earth? Water? No collaboration. Excuses made. Stubbornness. Misunderstandings. Light? Dark? We try meeting at middle ground. Concluding we can’t agree. Not in thought, time or space. Coffee’s gone cold. I mind. He doesn’t. Ketchup smeared on fridge door. I wipe off. Mustard appears. Grass is greener over there, he says. I don’t care. I prefer wildflowers. He repaints the scene with concrete. I’m younger, by two years exact. Can hardly wait for… Brother leaves for college. Forgets his toothbrush. I throw it into his room.

From Guest Contributor Krystyna Fedosejevs

Krystyna writes poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. 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.

29
May

One Last Sunrise

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Carl awoke to the escalating chorus of songbirds echoing through the dense northeastern forest. He arose and went through his morning ritual in silence. Dress and redon boots. Rehydrate and consume breakfast, coffee. Breakdown camp. Load his backpack.

These same activities he had performed for countless summers, now at a slower more deliberate pace.

The sealed cardboard box was left out of his pack today. He would carry it the last few miles in his hands.

Arriving at their unnamed peak, he savored the sunrise view east. Opening the box, he sprinkled her remains. Finally, at peace. Finally, at home.

From Guest Contributor Todd Raubenolt

25
May

Unrequited

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Soft and warm, her diamond-drill eyes cut through troubles to allow her molten laughter to fill his heart.

She moved like a leopard and, when her thighs brushed innocently, nerve endings tingled with an indescribable charge.

Wanting her more than breath, his eyes often sought the smooth valley beneath her throat, desire locking his tongue until…too late, leaving him to pounce at the desiccated dust eddies in her wake.

Fleeting shards of opportunity teased like mirages, requiring more energy and know-how than his aging, wounded, soul possessed.

She’d offered him a photo once. He’d declined. 2D simply wasn’t enough.

From Guest Contributor Perry McDaid

24
May

Metro Miracle Man

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

I’m tired. Every day I clean the floors, the toilets, empty the trash. After work, on the Metro, I see all the people sitting there, all the sad faces, tired faces, and think, okay people, it’s your lucky day—today is Miracle Day, people, what do you want?

I close my eyes—five, ten minutes. When I open them, the people are smiling. All their faces are changed because I have that power to change their lives. I look them over again and I am very happy. I close my eyes and say to myself, I am the Miracle Man.

From Guest Contributor Jeff Nazzaro

22
May

The Rant In The Lamp

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

In my perfect prison of smooth, curving walls, I dread the serpentine rope, curling on the bottom of the well.

No escape by that plaited ladder. It is a sucking wick, a path to punishment above in the glass panopticon, where they burn me alive.

With my light, without their night, those heedless animals cook and sing and flirt, while I, burning, dwindle and darken the glass.

I have suffered long in this prison well, and I have chosen my end. Once I am no more than soot and foul air, with my last, dry gasps, I will poison them.

From Guest Contributor Virginia Marybury

18
May

The Origin Of Myth

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

As far back as anyone can remember, Lulumak stole. When he was young, the elders told Lulumak’s parents that this was a sign of intelligence but once he matured into warriorhood, the elders warned Lulumak that he would be punished if he stole again. A day after Lulumak was warned, Chinoon caught him stealing fish from Yellow Hair’s net. The next day a few elders told Lulumak they discovered a rich fishing area and invited him to fish with them. When the elders returned without Lulumak, they told the tribe that Nanal, the monster, had eaten Lulumak for his sin.

From Guest Contributor Dave Harper

Dave, a recovering software developer, now finds himself addicted to writing fiction.

17
May

Abort

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Aliens set a stealth orbit around the planet. They plan to attack and destroy Earth.

First they orbit and scan all commutation signals. After doing this for four Earth days, they met to go over final plans. The meeting includes all officers. The meeting is short and all are in agreement. The minutes are read by a computer, “It is a unanimous decision the plan to destroy Earth will not go forward. The earthlings are doing a very good job on their own.”

The aliens depart. Their spacecraft speeds toward the next destination, the next planet with life to destroy.

From Guest Contributor Denny E. Marshall

16
May

Summer Days

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Joseph peered out his bedroom window, the summer sun beating on his old tired face. At ninety-five, he didn’t care. He enjoyed watching the children play hopscotch, giggling and waiting for the bells of the ice cream truck. Every time, the girls would drop their chalk and run to the sound. In the background birds flew from tree to tree. Joseph remembered those summer days as if it were yesterday.

“Time for your medication, Joseph,” said the home care nurse.

Joseph turned in his wheelchair and took his medication. He knew any day he’d never see those children play again.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

10
May

Youth

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

We pelt through the underbrush, giddy and squealing, following a trail too small for adult passage. Fronds of yellow broom lash our way with petals; it is early spring and the mud has only freshly set beneath our footfalls. The wooden knuckles of roots provide easy grapple holds for our pudgy hands, and we push on undaunted.

“Where are you?” he calls, breathless from behind me.

“Here! I’m up, follow my voice!” I guide him and we emerge, hand in hand, into the clearing.

Noble and patient, our grandfather’s oak tree welcomes us. A bird’s nest awaits as our reward.

From Guest Contributor Violetta Buono

London-based introvert Violetta Buono (@ViolettaBuono on Twitter) lives in a fantasy land of her own making. She graduated in Classical Studies, and is currently a freelance writer. Between writing poetry, flash fiction, and pretending to work on a novel, she sometimes submits her work but has yet to be published. This is her first piece appearing to the public.

8
May

A Singular Engagement

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

William cradled his seven billion secret.

So many sparkles, surfaces splintering sunlight.

He couldn’t name a single confidant. The gravity and the gossamer belonged to him alone.

He snapped the case shut. The light remained. Would it fit? He believed so. He hoped so.

Then again, it didn’t matter. If it fit, they’d tell a fairy book tale. If it didn’t, they’d laugh, they’d reconsider, and they’d refit, impervious to the punches.

All of which they would come to know together. In the meantime, he’d know all alone, confident yet precarious in the center of his chest.

Witnesses could wait.

From Guest Contributor Frankie Sturm