Posts Tagged ‘Friends’
Jan
Disruptions
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
People, she thought, were like gadgets. They could be tucked away neatly into white boxes, each waiting to fulfill their role. Friends, family, coworkers—they each had their own purpose in her life, and she never let them stray. Few coworkers ever became friends, and even fewer friends became family. Nobody crossed the inner circles of her life without her permission. And then, there was him. The glitter explosion that disrupted her perfect life, bringing just a little mess with him, wherever he went. She now carried that intoxicating aura as it radiated from her chest in amber waves: Bull’s-eye.
From Guest Contributor Kelsey Swancott
Kelsey is a senior majoring in English with a minor in Visual Arts and Spanish while also being involved in the campus literary magazine Angles. She plans on furthering her education by getting her masters degree in English as well. Her work has been published in Entropy Squared, The Dribble Drabble Review’s Spring 2021 issue, and Otoliths in February 2021.
Nov
Shame
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
I take a bite of the chocolate cheesecake, stolen from a remote corner of the refrigerator and want to savor with closed eyes, but I don’t dare. Mom can come anytime. I gobble it up, throwing the carton in the trash.
She descends the stairs and frowns at the cake crumbs on the floor. I hate her for that.
I look at the book I’m supposed to be reading and try to hide my shame, my secret. The same secret that’s hers when she introduces her teenage daughter to her friends, her eyes apologizing for the girth of my thighs.
From Guest Contributor Anuradha Dev
Oct
Beauty Of Life
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Walking through the park’s garden, the fresh scent of grass and flowers soothes me. The leaves are slowly blowing in the breeze and the chipmunks race around the path.
Children are laughing and playing baseball while their parents proudly watch, and it reminds me of my own childhood summers, playing catch with my friends while my father coached us on our throws.
I wish I could go back and be young again, but I can’t change time. I’m elderly, brittle and fortunate to be able to walk at my age.
This is why I’m thankful for the beauty of life.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Aug
Rags To Riches And Back
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
HUBRIS CONTEST:
Mr. X fell. How badly?
Initially, he didn’t know. He continued contriving grandiose schemes. To deceive and conquer. Gain at the loss of others.
Friends he once had dwindled to one. They witnessed him gloating. How he went from rags to riches, increasing net worth “like no one else.”
Until the world sank into monetary collapse.
His temper shot up. Those he benefited from abandoned positions of his corporate ladder. He maintained headstrong in his quest of greatness, overriding those needing assistance.
Indeed, Mr. X fell. Sad thing, he had no clue how to rise.
Nor do others marked ‘X.’
From Guest Contributor Krystyna Fedosejevs
Aug
Flash Bang Boom
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
With the encouragement of family and friends, I adopted a retired bomb-sniffing dog. I called him “Flash” – after the flashing lights of a migraine, I would joke to anyone who asked. One day he discovered under the couch a severed doll’s head I didn’t even know I had. Next the piano stopped producing sounds when I sat down to play it. Then the tree outside my window appeared suspended like an astronaut in space. Now I often catch the dog lying on the couch studying me with cold, squinty eyes as if calculating exactly how much a person can bear.
From Guest Contributor Howie Good
Howie is the author of THE DEATH ROW SHUFFLE, a poetry collection forthcoming from Finishing Line Press.
Aug
The Hubris Of An Atheist
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
HUBRIS CONTEST:
Steven had few religious friends. He’d hector and accuse anyone who was a believer, demanding proof they both knew didn’t exist. He belittled their faith, claimed they were wasting their time, and insisted that all plausible evidence pointed towards the folly of religion. No matter how generous of spirit they might have been, Steven’s condescending demeanor drove them off.
In some ways, Steven’s faith in his own rationality was stronger (and more misguided) than the religious devotion of any of his former friends. Ironic that he now found himself at a loss for words before Saint Peter at the gate.
From Guest Contributor Sarah Levy
Jul
Troubles
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Covid-19 has taken a toll on my social life. The quarantine has me cooped up other than grocery shopping or a drive, and I miss the sounds of my friends boisterous laughs when we joke about men while watching romance movies chomping on popcorn.
Reading a novel with my feet up, the same words stare at me. I toss the book aside and pace, when a tapping on the back door distracts my thoughts. I look outside and a black kitten is on the patio meowing.
I forget all my troubles when I step outside and pet this adorable animal.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Jun
Dust To Dust
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
NATURE SUBMISSION:
The dust swirls through the late evening sun, catching the light just so. Growing up, people used to say the dust was your dead skin. A few of my more morbid friends even said it was the skin of dead people. Dust to dust after all.
I wonder if that’s true. The poet in me wants to believe it is, that we’re surrounded by our ancestors at all times, that their spirits live for eternity on the winds.
The claims adjuster in me turns back to my computer screen. Perhaps if I concentrated a bit more I’d be home already.
From Guest Contributor Angie Thrush
Jun
Consequences
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
My fate had been decided and I’m not sorry. The hunger in the pit of my stomach was more important than the consequences. When I barreled my fist into the man’s face and he fell to the ground motionless, I took the bread with my sore, bloody knuckles and ran. Within a day, the sheriff apprehended me.
I’m trapped in a cold, dank, cage, with crawling rats as my friends. I’ve heard other prisoners declaring innocence and then silence.
The sheriff led me outside to a chanting crowd, hands tied tightly behind me, to the noose that awaits my neck.
From Guest Contributor Lisa Scuderi-Burkimsher
Jun
The Man Who Loved Trees
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
NATURE SUBMISSION:
There once was a boy who loved trees. He frequently played in the woods near his village, until one day all the trees were gone.
He decided to plant a new tree every day. His friends laughed at him, insisting that one person couldn’t make a difference. But he was determined. Many years passed, and the number of trees he’d planted grew into the thousands. An entire forest existed thanks to his efforts.
Then the hurricane came. All his trees were wiped out in a single night.
The morning after the storm, the man woke up and planted a tree.
From Guest Contributor Cissy Lee