June, 2018 Archives
Jun
The Lessons
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Lydia played the piano hoping that would make her parents smile. Her daddy broke some furniture. He bought an accordion and she took lessons. He kicked the dog. Her parents came to see her dance recital. Her daddy yelled at her mama for flirting with a man. He gave her a black eye. Lydia took swimming lessons. Her daddy took her fishing and threw her in the lake yelling “Swim.” She went down down down to the murky bottom where a huge whiskered catfish blinked at her. It was very peaceful. She came up and swam away from the boat.
From Guest Contributor Sandra Ramos O’Briant
Jun
Just Another Day
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Officer Barrett aimed and fired his gun, hitting the man in the shoulder. The criminal dropped his weapon and screeched in pain.
“On your knees, hands behind your head,” Barrett said, cuffing the man’s hands.
“Take it easy, I have a bullet in my shoulder,” he wriggled as Barrett pushed him to his feet.
“Better than a bullet in your head, like you did to that poor woman’s husband. You’re going away for a very long time. This was your last house robbery.
Barrett put him in the squad car and slammed the door.
Just another day on the job.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Jun
Keeping Up Appearances
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Several seats were open at the bar and I sat next to an elderly lady. “Don’t forget Michelle’s dinner,” I thought.
“How do you do?” the lady asked.
“Pretty well. Just getting home from work. How are you?”
“I’m well, thanks. Where do you work?”
“I work as a counselor,” I said. I was a peer counselor but I didn’t want to disclose my diagnosis.
“What’s your focus?”
“Psychotic disorders.”
“I feel so bad for those poor people,” she said as she looked at her glass.
“Oh, I dunno, you’d be surprised. Some of them do better than you think.”
From Guest Contributor Steve Colori
Jun
A Nice Girl
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Samantha read The Great Gatsby, to her elderly grandmother Millie,
again.
She sat with the book in one hand and her coffee mug in the other. The
small room was warm and cozy as the sun beamed through the window.
Samantha took a sip of coffee and listened to the birds chirping and the
ticking of the wall clock. It was time to leave.
She kissed Millie on the cheek. “Okay, grandma, see you on Sunday.”
Samantha’s eyes teared as she left, knowing her grandmother no longer
knew who she was, other than a nice girl who came to visit.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Jun
The Golden Thread Part One
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
“It’s too dark. I heard there are tigers in this jungle.”
“Yes.”
“Ordinary tigers?”
“Different. They’re faster, and their fangs have venom, like a snake.”
“What if we see one?”
“They will see you first. Just watch. Just be still.”
“How can we be still with tigers after us?”
“They’re not after us.”
“What if they catch us?”
“If you run they will chase you and they will catch you. They tear the throat, and the poison goes in the blood. It paralyzes you, makes you blind, makes you forget why you are here. And then you drop the thread.”
From Guest Contributor Brook Bhagat
Brook Bhagat’s poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and humor have appeared in Empty Mirror Magazine, Little India, Dămfīno, Nowhere Poetry, Rat’s Ass Review, Peacock Journal, A Story in 100 Words, Anthem: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen, and other journals and anthologies. She has completed a full-length poetry manuscript, is writing a novel, and is editor-in-chief of Blue Planet Journal. She holds an MFA from Lindenwood University and teaches creative writing at a community college. More at brook-bhagat.com
Jun
To The Sci-fi Gazette
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
The SciFi Gazette–shining beacon of non-cliché speculative fiction. Submission guidelines had listed discouraged themes; ‘dystopias’ were number one: bad news for a pessimist like myself.
The state of the world sank home for me when The Gazette’s most hackneyed theme changed to ‘utopias.’ Still, they never published my bleak predictions.
I’d intended to kick down the door, but it already hung on its hinges. Scattered papers decorated shattered furniture. I luckily bagged a tatty anthology edition for later reading.
The editor was, of course, not there. On her desk, I deposited my latest story. I had high hopes–my first utopia.
From Guest Contributor Tris Matthews
Jun
Unconventional Ray
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
“I need to take another X-ray,” the doctor said.
“Why?” asked the patient.
“Not ‘Y’. ‘X’ as in X-rated.”
“What is X-rated?” The patient was awakening from post-surgery slumber.
A nurse entered the hospital room. The doctor left.
“So, how does it look?” the patient asked the nurse. Realizing his covers were off and she was peering down at him below the waist.
“I mean, my ankle.”
The nurse funneled her eyes through his. Her full lips smiled at the corners. Giggling followed.
“You’re on the mend, Ray,” she said. “Dr. Hoo just wants to take one more X-ray.”
“Who?”
From Guest Contributor Krystyna Fedosejevs
Krystyna writes poetry, flash fiction and short stories. She’s published in Canada, United States and Europe in journals, anthologies and online including Boston Literary Magazine and Friday Flash Fiction. She won several poetry contests, was shortlisted in a short story competition and is a member of two writers’ groups where she resides.
Jun
The Change
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
“Watta you gonna do?”
“I don’t know.” It was getting dark.
“You could run away.”
“Where would I go?”
“California?”
“That far?”
“Or Mexico.”
“I don’t speak Spanish.”
“Then just give it back.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I already spent it on candy.”
His friend thought about that. “Can I have some?”
“I ate it all.”
After watching the traffic at the intersection for a while, the boy’s friend got up. “I can’t go to California,” he said apologetically.
“Why not?”
“I’m not allowed to cross the street.”
“Yeah,” the little boy still sitting on the curb admitted, “me neither.”
From Guest Contributor Jean Blasiar
Jun
Tracks
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
The snow showed her tracks. It was easy for them to follow her. They were clumsy and noisy, but were on her trail. At this pace, she was not sure how long she could last.
As the snow came down harder, her tracks were getting covered and would make them hard to follow. If the snow continued at this rate, her tracks would be obliterated and she would be safe. Then she could stop and rest, and hide under some fir trees until they passed or gave up. She would live another day and maybe give birth to her fawn.
From Guest Contributor NT Franklin
Jun
Unexpected
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Lucy turned up the car radio. It was their song and it reminded her of his soft touch on her body and the warmth of his breath on her face. Jim was taken too soon from an unexpected illness and the pain jabbed at her heart. She longed to hear his laughter and see his big dimples. His family didn’t approve of their relationship. She was older, divorced and not Catholic. But they were in love.
Lucy drove up the driveway and rubbed her stomach. How would she tell a family that disliked her that Jim would’ve been a father?
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher