July, 2017 Archives

31
Jul

Give Me Words, Paint Me Colours

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

“Tell me words that describe your universe,” she begs, “give me images for what I can’t see.”

“How? Your eyes only detect thirty-eight colours; I count them in thousands.”

She shakes her head and bends to kiss my hands. She knows I don’t have them, but she’s happy with the illusion. It’s another truth she searches for.

“Let me share your reality.”

Not a chance, I think, but I can’t force myself to say it. “I’ll try, human.”

For the sake of our impossible love, for that morning when your world remained silent, for the memory of a destroyed planet.

From Guest Contributor Russell Hemmell

Russell is an alien from Mintaka snuggled into a (consenting) human host. Recent fiction on Gone Lawn, Not One of Us, Typehouse Literary Journal, and elsewhere.

18
Jul

The Beauty Of Summertime

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Sarah sat on the beach swooshing her toes through the hot sand. In the near distance, two young girls were building a sand castle, arguing about who was the better swimmer. Sarah turned up the radio and tuned them out. She closed her eyes and let the warm ocean breeze sooth her tension. With a smile on her face she listened to the waves, in between her favorite songs.

“What a beautiful day,” she said.

Within minutes the sun disappeared and it began to thunder and lightning. Seconds later Sarah was drenched and running to her car, the day ruined.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

14
Jul

Credit Card Points

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

I saw the beauty, but didn’t realize the character wasn’t worthy.

We were in a restaurant when she smiled and said lets go for a movie after lunch. It seemed like a good plan. I nodded and paid for the heavy Indian meal. We saw the Bollywood movie while stuffing ourselves with caramel corn, nachos, and soda. I was taxed.

Afterwards she wanted to go shopping. She liked many things, but bought only a dozen of them. She also got stuff for her family. I had by now earned 500 credit card points and sageness. She talked about women’s equality.

From Guest Contributor Manmeet S Chadha.

Manmeet is an alumunus from The London School of Economics & Political Science. He works in India as an Economist & Writer.

13
Jul

Sunday Morning

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Polystyrene-on-glass calls pause. Unknown bird waits. Magpie’s hoarse rattle bobs upon chill breeze, followed by one clipped caw. Wind and distant slumber.

Dog yelp, muffled by intervening streets, punctuates keyboard-click.

Repeated.

Nothing.

Wheeze of diesel engine and hiss of pneumatic tyres upon Tarmac cue pair of voices in garbled conversation, growing as they near.

The dog dips paw into arena of proper barking before relenting, wounded by unanimous indifference.

Then…timeless chorus of seagulls.

All cede to a hesitant wind under sombre sky.

Footfalls.

Children’s voices shatter tableau, announcing subdued urgency of Sunday morning.

Bleakness prevails, yet wind chimes sound.

From Guest Contributor Perry McDaid

12
Jul

Drooley

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

We named our new bulldog pup, Drooley, in honor of never-ending slobbering. As he matured, Drooley’s slobbering grew worse. Navigating through our house was like running a gauntlet of huge slime spots that Drooley slung on floors and walls every time he shook his head.

We took Drooley to our vet who laughed when she measured the prodigious amount of slobber that Drooley produced, but she couldn’t recommend any measures to reduce it.

Desperate, we invented our own cure. We added alum to Drooley’s food.

A week later, we celebrated our brilliant discovery by giving Drooley a new name, Pucker.

From Guest Contributor Dave Harper

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

11
Jul

The Mortar

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

“Captain Stevens you normally don’t get so upset by attacks, what’s under your skin?” Sergeant Cordova asked in a mock-respectful tone.

“I was watching 1408,” I responded.

“The horror movie with Matthew Broderick?”

“It was John Cusack, but yes.”

“It’s based on the Stephen King story?”

“Yes.”

“Alone, at night, in Iraq?”

“Yes.”

“A few life tips, Sir… don’t give your ex-wife the keys to your Camaro, don’t dismount after getting hit by an unknown attacker, and the most important…”

“What’s the most important thing?”

“Don’t watch a horror movie alone, at night, in Iraq, with all due respect…Sir.”

From Guest Contributor Terry Brunt

7
Jul

A Special Bond

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

I’m sitting on the couch with Lucy on my lap and Breanna running laps around the living room. My Shih-Tzus, my furry friends.

Lucy is older than Breanna, but smaller. She stands her ground when Breanna gets out of line with a fierce growl. Breanna plays with every toy, while Lucy enjoys curling up on my lap or turning over for a stomach rub.

Breanna is in constant motion. When her batteries finally run out, she plops down, wags her golden tail and Lucy watches on with her big brown eyes.

I love them. My furry friends, my furry daughters.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

5
Jul

The Boglands

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

You’ve walked this way hundreds of times, but tonight seems different. You keep your pace brisk and straight.

Two shadows, a woman and her child. She reaches down, ruffling the boy’s hair. That’s when the boy skips off the road, slipping from the woman’s hold. He sinks into the marshland, cries out and is submerged completely.

You rush forward and grasp the child.

It is not a child. Eyes roll back into the skull then flick forwards. Slight hands clamp tight.

“We’re sorry,” the woman murmurs.

One final gulp of air and all three of you sink into the Boglands.

From Guest Contributors Katie Clark and David Rae

David lives is a fan of flash fiction and has had work published in; BLINK-INK, HELIOS QUARTERLY, GNU MAGAZINE, THE MACHINERY, THREE DROPS FROM THE CAULDRON, SUMMER FLING -TALES OF SEDUCTION, SHORT TALE 100 and 50 WORD STORIES.

Katie is new at this game but thinks she might like it. She’s the brains behind the operation

3
Jul

At The Lake

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Sitting in the sun with her friends at the lake, she hoped for Cannon Stevens to notice her, she hoped her mother wouldn’t notice her tan line, and she hoped she didn’t get burned.

Water hit her legs and she jumped up and ran towards Cannon who stood laughing in the shallows. Scooping water up with her hands, she splashed him and he grabbed her hands, his laugh turning into a silly grin.

That night, her mom flipped, “Bikini lines! Not on my daughter!”

Aloe couldn’t heal the cigarette burns on her stomach.

The lake water and Cannon’s touch did.

From Guest Contributor Tyrean Martinson

Tyrean is a daydreamer, believer, and writer who lives in the Northwest.