Posts Tagged ‘Guest Contributor’
Nov
Rain
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
After evensong, her steps are soft on the stairs, and I will denounce these risers with their dips in the middle; it’s been centuries; couldn’t they be repaired now, o ye archbishops? Through the light-coloured thin-glass panes, I can see the skies darkening: how am I supposed to get her home in a storm, my newly blind friend with her damnable tumour? We will be like those lost old farts in the wilderness. My friend shifts her foot towards a stair, seeking. Let the rain fall gently on us, I think; let it fall like a hymn sung in evening.
From Guest Contributor Colleen Addison
Nov
Dare To Taste
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
“Ewwww…what’s that sickening smell?”
“You wouldn’t want to know,” Jack insisted. “Can you walk faster?”
“Why?”
“You don’t want to be stopped by she who lives there,” pointed Jack.
It could’ve been dried autumn leaves rustling in the wind, but they didn’t want to take a chance by looking back. They scurried past her unkempt lawn, not noticing the silhouette of someone sitting on the front porch.
“You boys hungry? Stew’s almost ready,” a woman’s voice shrieked.
The friends pretended not to hear.
“Rumour has it that she had four husbands,” Jack murmured. “No one has seen even one.”
From Guest Contributor Krystyna Fedosejevs
Nov
Difficult Patient
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
The hearing aid specialist, Linda, clasped her hands against her cheeks.
“Mrs. Marconi, for months now I’ve shown you how to insert the hearing aids. If you’re having difficulty, we need another impression to order a new pair.”
Mrs. Marconi shifted in her seat. “No, I hear fine with these.”
Linda explained that if she’s not satisfied, then she needs to rethink her choice.
Mrs. Marconi thanked Linda and walked out.
Linda rolled her eyes and dreaded the thought of her next appointment with her.
She noted in her calendar to call in sick the day of Mrs. Marconi’s appointment.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Nov
Population Statistics
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
There are 7 billion people in the world and 7 billion rats. Both are social creatures, although people refuse to socialize with rats. The sight of a rat – at a wedding reception or restaurant, for example – upsets humans. But how about rats?…
“Rattus, did you know there are 7 billion people?”
“What?”
Two rats – Frank and Rattus – discussed the situation in an alley with overturned trash cans.
“7 billion.”
“You mean, as many as rats, Frank?”
“What’d you think of that, Rattus?”
“Look at the world, and some of those weddings and restaurants…I’m sorry to hear it, Frank.”
From Guest Contributor David Sydney
Nov
Snitch
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Here’s my dilemma.
I’ve learned Roger is having an affair with a woman from work.
What?!
I saw them kissing outside a hotel downtown. I confronted him later and he admitted it, reluctantly.
Should I tell Audrey?
I assume she’ll be upset, though maybe she already suspects his infidelity.
I care about them both, but, as you know, Roger’s been a jerk to me since getting married.
Plus, I’ve had a crush on Audrey since high school.
So, you’re asking if you should snitch on your brother so you can get with your sister-in-law?
I am … she deserves better!
From Guest Contributor Bob Gielow
A college administrator by day, Bob (he/him) spins tales in formats we all use when communicating with each other: text messages, emails, fictional Wikipedia posts, and diary entries all allow him to be clinical and thorough in describing his characters, their thinking and actions…without diminishing his ability to explore the resulting human emotions.
Nov
Night Shift
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
When the wind blew really hard all the derricks had to be towed in off the lake. Usually it chased us off around ten. So my shift began with the promise of a shutdown. I would gather up the rangemen to go out in the skiff anyway, just to make a showing. I was home by one and could listen to the wind howl in my basement apartment till I fell asleep. The next night would be awful with me tired and everything. You should never get out of that night shift rhythm, no matter how good the wind sounds.
From Guest Contributor Paul Smith
Nov
Demolition
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
He passed the tax building, now being slowly demolished.
“Everything’s done online these days,” he thought bitterly.
He’d been a manager there, running his section with the efficiency of a concentration camp commandant.
“Got any spare change?” asked one of a group of teenagers watching the demolition.
Giving them an evil stare, he walked on.
“Goddam!” The beer can struck him on the back of the head.
“Fuck off and die, you old fart!” he heard as they ran off laughing.
He looked at the shell of the building for a while.
Soon – like him – it would be gone forever.
From Guest Contributor Ian Fletcher
Nov
Transient
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Leaving is always hard, especially when you think you’ve finally found a place to settle. Among the things I’ll miss about this world and its nascent civilisation are the secret songs hummed by pylons, and the brooding silences of daytime streetlights. Perhaps its denizens will evolve someday to not need that artificial interconnectedness that’s so important to them, but I won’t be around to find out. My time, like theirs, has expired: the Vsanic are here, camouflaged, probing, scouting the planet, and I, a fugitive from their cold, imperial justice, must leave before they find me. Time to run, again.
From Guest Contributor Alastair Millar
Oct
Ghastly Ghosts
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
When I took the cashier job, it wasn’t explained to me that I’d be working with the supernatural. I didn’t abhor spirits, but those ghastly ghosts were frustrating. When I’d enter an amount in the computer, it deleted, and the customers would get angry at the slow checkout. So, I had another chat with the boss, and he told me he dealt with it, and if I couldn’t, then I should quit.
The next day, a sign on the door read: “STORE CLOSED DUE TO PESTS.” When I looked through the window, boxes of ant traps danced in the aisles.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Oct
Sylvia And Mel’s Future
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Sylvia was at Madame Olga’s. The psychic peered into her crystal ball.
“Will Mel make it?”
“There’s a chance.”
“His liver’s bad. Dr Fruman’s taking care of him.”
Mel, Sylvia’s ex-husband, was hospitalized. She was at the fortuneteller’s for a second opinion.
“Even though it’s Fruman, I see Mel pulling through.”
“Really? Do you think a near-death experience will change him?”
“Change?”
“Will I get any support checks Mel owes me?”
“Checks, huh?”
Madame Olga stared intently. Syvia had paid $225 for the ‘Deluxe View’ into the future.
“Madame Olga?”
“I’m looking…”
“Even one lousy check?”
“I’m looking…I’m looking…”
From Guest Contributor David Sydney