February, 2023 Archives
Feb
My Setting Sun
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
We sit on the beach watching a summer sunset, foamy saltwater encroaching upon our bare toes. Distant mountains cut jagged lines in the sky. We’re laughing, your warm arm around my shoulders. I glow in your rare happiness, believing you’ll stay with me always.
I sense you withdrawing as the sun sinks behind the mountains, air chilling as the golden orb dwindles. Just before it disappears, my soul cries: don’t fade away, don’t leave.
The sun pauses, a yolk balancing on the highest peak.
The moment breaks. Your arm falls from my shoulders.
My soul aches as the sun vanishes.
From Guest Contributor Katla Watersin
Feb
Please Support A Story In One Hundred Words
by thegooddoctor in News
Hey readers of my humble little flash fiction site! Can you believe we’ve been at this for more than a decade???
I love supporting all of you writers out there, but the reality is that it’s hard for me to find the time every week to make sure I’m updating regularly. The best way you can support the site, besides submitting your own original stories, is to purchase one of my books on Amazon. If you enjoy microfiction, then you’ll love Picasso Painted Dinosaurs, with never-before-read stories mixed in with some of my all time favorites. Other options include Quitting The Grave, a murder mystery set on the Oregon Trail, They Both Loved Vonnegut, a collection of modern fairy tales, and Ahab’s Adventures In Wonderland, a mashup of Alice In Wonderland and Moby Dick.
Thanks to all the readers and writers out there! Here’s to another decade of stories!
Feb
Payback
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
On their Golden Anniversary, he started calling her by different names and nicknames on a random basis – Stewie and Stewbabe, Audrey, Boobala, Doc, Squig, and so on – knowing he’d never forget her real name, but figuring that when he finally reached the peak of Mt. Alzheimer he’d be able to cover it up a little longer, give her less to worry about.
One morning, she asked him, “Did you sleep well, ummm…” hesitating as if trying to recall his name.
“Yes I did,” he replied, frowning at her smile.
After that, he knew he’d never play the alias game again.
From Guest Contributor Ron. Lavalette
Ron.’s debut chapbook, Fallen Away (Finishing Line Press) is now available at all standard outlets. Many of his published works can be found at EGGS OVER TOKYO
Feb
The Missed Date
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
I first saw you in the waiting room. I had an appointment with the oncologist. I was waiting. You waited too, month after month, for the trial results. You often came alone. You often sat alone in a corner, fiddling with the ring finger. The absence of a ring created a note of discord. It took me six months to gather courage to ask your name, your hobbies, your favourite colour, flower, song, season. For a date finally. You said yes. I wore blue and ordered one hundred and one tulips for the day. The day I attended your funeral.
From Guest Contributor Marzia Rahman
Marzia is a Bangladeshi fiction writer and translator. Her writings have appeared in several print and online journals. Her novella-in-flash If Dreams had wings and Houses were built on clouds was longlisted in the Bath Novella in Flash Award Competition in 2022. She is currently working on a novella.
Feb
Peaches
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
I open the window with force to see what the commotion is. The street is filled with people standing and screaming. I see a glimpse of a shoeless foot, sock hanging. Long red hair catches my eyes, as does the smashed front windshield of a small car.
An ambulance approaches blaring its siren and the crowd shifts to the sidewalk.
Now I see the victim is my next-door neighbor and my heart palpitates.
Sitting on my lap is her kitten Peaches, who I pet sit.
I coddle the furry cat in my arms, and realize I’ll be his home now.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Feb
Huff It Your Way
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
“They’re moving Poe from the County jail to the Big House in the morning,” Dink Delmonico, head of the notorious Delmonico Crime Syndicate said. “Grub, you and Chub are gonna’ bust him out tonight.”
“How, Boss,” Grub asked. “There’s only two of us and at least a dozen guards.”
“With these,” Dink said, putting two pesticide spray canisters on the table. “They’re filled with quick-acting knockout gas. One whiff and the guards will hit the floor like bags of horse manure. Just don’t spray Poe.”
“Right, Boss,” Chub said.
“Remember,” Dink said. “Go directly to jail, and don’t gas Poe.”
From Guest Contributor Lee Hammerschmidt
Lee is a Visual Artist/Writer/Troubadour. He is the author of the short story collections, A Hole Of My Own, It’s Noir O’clock Somewhere, For Richer or Noirer, and Flash Wounds. Check out his hit parade on YouTube!
Feb
The Curse Of Forest Mother
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Muma is crying like a child while we are watching the river runs red and dead. The hills above us are crumbling away into the deep, giant sinkholes. The ancient forests are cut down or burned. Muma’s hand is so cold, her body is trembling like a leaf. Muma’s lips are motionless but I can hear her silent curse…
Now I understand the meaning of those untold words and feel the real wonder and power of her inner voice. The end is near because we are human and humans must be punished for all crimes against our dear Mother Nature.
From Guest Contributor Ivan Ristic
Feb
Lovers And Leaves
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Staring out through a grove of trees, mouths moaning as swirls of dark browns cover the bright yellows and vibrant orange of autumn leaves, whispering to the fields of dying long grass.
The artist found his place and began to paint. Hours turned into days, joyously becoming lost in the thoughts of his one true love.
When the artist’s trance ended, he was perplexed by the ghostly image of his lover in a pink dress, his heart in her hands and his love-lorn self standing beside her.
Behind them, the fields were a sea of violet flowers in violent bloom.
From Guest Contributor J. Iner Souster
Feb
Gratitude
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
“So nice,” Sarah thought, reciprocating a friendly wave.
She would’ve helped if her arthritic hands weren’t an issue. Instead, she watched the next door neighbor bend countless times to weed a bountiful garden.
When showy bouquets were presented at her front door, Sarah returned the favor with her baking. When her husband died, the neighbor had arranged funeral flowers free of charge.
Drought settled the following year. Flowering plants suffered. Rosebuds dried, not getting a chance to bloom. Much of the garden had dwindled.
Unlike the blossoming friendship between the two women, who found themselves together at a seniors’ lodging.
From Guest Contributor Krystyna Fedosejevs
Krystyna writes poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction regardless of the season, although she prefers spring.