Dec
Camaraderie
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Quibble believes the Paterson boy is getting a little close to his daughter. He has seen how tethered they sit when allowed to linger together on the porch. Three school dances in a row they have been each other’s primary partner. Quibble’s wife has taken to complimenting for no reason, with fanfare, the boy’s taste in clothing. The conspiracy grows. Quibble is sure, if he had a mind to intercede, he could find the couple parked in the graveyard, innocently – so far – bobbing for lumber. He likes the boy well enough. He has to find a way to warn him.
From Guest Contributor Ken Poyner
Dec
The Secret To Staying Human
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Mom digs her feet under the wet sand of the Atlantic. I stand next to her, wondering if the ocean will remember her and melt her legs back together.
Each wave climbs higher up our pale legs. Our feet sink deeper and deeper. The surge threatens to topple me, to suck me out to sea. Tears stream down my cheeks.
Mom grabs me. “This was a mistake.”
I cling to her as she rushes toward our towels.
She dries her feet. Inspects each toe. Sighs in relief.
My toes tingle, translucent skin spread between them. The ocean’s song calls me.
From Guest Contributor Sally Simon
Sally (ze/hir) lives in NY. When not writing, ze’s travels and stabs people with hir epee. Read more at www.sallysimonwriter.com.
Dec
Thanksgiving
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Thanksgiving, a time to spend with family. The turkey is in the oven filled with my famous bread stuffing, the pumpkin pie is cooling, and the vegetables are ready to go.
I sip wine and watch the parade waiting for my company. It’s half past 4 o’clock. I told everyone to be here over an hour ago for anti-pasta.
My cell phone rings.
“Hey, Myra, sorry, but we all came down with the stomach flu. We’re not going to make it this year. Hopefully, we’ll see you at Christmas.”
I pack up my dinner and take it to a shelter.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Dec
All The Time In The World
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
“Paul, Emily here.” Pleasant and composed as always. “I need a power of attorney for my mom, Agnes.”
“Sure. Why the POA?”
“Mom has terminal cancer. Not yet but very soon she’ll need heavy morphine. I’ll handle her affairs.”
We meet at Hospice. Agnes is sitting up, hair brushed, gracious, as pleasant and composed as Emily. She signs the POA, we find witnesses. We chat, then: “Thanks, Paul, so very much. Goodbye!” All without any misgivings, remorse, self-pity. As I leave, mother and daughter carry on, chatting amiably. They make the most of it.
All the time in the world.
From Guest Contributor Tony Covatta
Dec
The Island
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Emmett had one wish, a quiet place to call his own.
He found his island floating above the planes of a fractured, blackened Earth. A small, dark place, untouched by the sun as it hovers with a dizzying presence. This place does not feel like it belongs to the world that Emmett knows, but it has been here since time began and will continue even when the sun collapses, when all life on Earth ends.
It contains nothing except itself (nothing but pure consciousness), for this is space without form or substance, and it is a terrible sight to behold.
From Guest Contributor J. Iner Souster
Dec
Sightseeing In The Subway
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
There are names scratched onto the walls of New York City subway cars. Monday it was Mark. Tuesday, Dylan. Wednesday, Fatima. Thursday, Kat, and Friday, Lucy. The poorly carved letters, engraved with care, resemble the jagged handwriting of a preschooler; It’s something inexplicably human. Though the scratches will fade, and the steel of the cars will corrode, I like to think otherwise; the remnants of these people will linger long after time forgets who they are. Every name I spot, a wave of tranquility washes over me as I stand in a mess of busy people in a busy city.
From Guest Contributor Eshal Yazdani
Nov
Thick Crust
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
The real Spartacus was among the guys who answered to that name when Romans captured hundreds. No photos on file—he was the one who looked like Kirk Douglass.
He’d take his punishment alone for leading the slave uprising. Except his men wouldn’t allow it. The Romans spread them out along the Appian Way, crucified.
Appian Way was a strange name for a box mix of pizza dough a few eons after the action.
No one schools Romans. That’s clear as he walks to the cross they raise. Still, he’d do it all over—break for freedom, die beside the road.
From Guest Contributor Todd Mercer
Nov
Scars
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
I weave between trees, around my bike and up the stairs. The screen door slams in my wake. Through the kitchen, I run for my room. Behind me, my brother stretches out his Gumby-hand. He’s within inches of touching my skin. Inside, a tick is dying to suck my blood.
Years later, I’ll run on the beach. You’ll chase me with something in your hand. Perhaps a periwinkle plucked from a nearby dune. You’ll hand it to me and smile. Say you love me. I’ll take it, hold the flower to my nose, and wonder what it wants from me.
From Guest Contributor Sally Simon
Sally (ze/hir) lives in NY. When not writing, ze travels and stabs people with hir epee. Read more at www.sallysimonwriter.com.
Nov
Live
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
The Fuhrer took everything. My husband, two sons, and our home that had been in the family for years. I’m all that’s left. The war is over, but who and what do I have to go back to. I lived through the filth and disease when everyone else was dying and there had been nothing I could do.
When the Americans arrived and liberated the camps, I fell to my knees and wept. I couldn’t believe it was over.
It’s tragic and my heart aches every-day, but I will continue to live, if not for myself then for my family.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Lisa has been writing since 2010 and has had many micro-flash fiction stories published. In 2018 her book, Shorts for the Short Story Enthusiasts, was published, and The Importance of Being Short in 2019. Her most recent book In A Flash, was published in the spring of 2022.
She currently resides on Long Island, New York with her husband Richard and dogs Lucy and Breanna.
Nov
The Fall Of The Roman Empire
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Frank stumbles down the street in broad daylight. The crisp air helps dull the pain in his wounds. Lightheaded and off balance, he is reminded of late nights in college, wandering drunkenly back to his dorm room. His vision now has the same tunnel focus that causes him to lose sight of his surroundings.
He’d never finished that final essay for History of Rome, but Professor Dutton had allowed him to pass anyway. She’d always liked him. Maybe it was her fault that he’d never learned any discipline.
What a weird thing to remember as he is about to die.