Posts Tagged ‘Heart’
Aug
What We Remind Ourselves To See
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
His heart was in the right place, Mama would say. To explain away anything Kurt did. Like it was about location, his heart, being where it should be. He meant well. I nod like I agree. But on good days when Timmy takes a nap after lunch, I go out on the front porch, close the door behind me. Think about how I’d pack just a few things, wear a white summer dress. I stand there on the porch alone, and it’s like I’m riding in a fancy car with the top down. Letting the sun and wind hit me.
From Guest Contributor Beth Mead
May
Her Little Plum
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
The plum blossoms dance in the spring breeze like pink snowflakes across the yard.
A boy again, mother lifts me into the limbs to pick ripened fruit. “Be careful, my precious squirrel.”
“Ready, dear?” my wife asks.
“Yes,” my voice chafes. I inspect my dark suit, adjusting my tie in the window’s reflection. Wipe my face and rub wet fingers together.
“Your speech is in my purse.”
Words. An inadequate parting gift.
My mouth waters as mother sets down a steaming plum pie.
After her funeral, floodlights illuminate wreckage of the fallen tree. A brittle heart splinters. Sobs erupt anew.
From Guest Contributor Eric Schweitz
Mar
Bankruptcy
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
The company declared bankruptcy this morning. Everyone is in shock. No-one saw it coming.
Overnight the company’s liquid assets vanished. No-one seems to know why or how.
In a numb state, I work as quickly as possible preparing the forms and statements the incoming Liquidator will require. My heart is not in it.
The Directors need to sign the documents. I enter the Boardroom freely, the door isn’t locked.
The five directors are standing around the boardroom table. Each has a suitcase open on a chair beside him. The table creaks under the weight of the cash piled on it.
From Guest Contributor Barry O’Farrell
Barry O’Farrell is an actor living in Brisbane, Australia. Barry’s stories have appeared in Cyclamens & Swords, 50-Word Stories, and of course here at A Story In 100 Words.
Apr
Moon Swallows Head of Barking Dog
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
A young girl and her father sit on a bench and stare into the lake. They are stuck this way forever. From here on out, they must focus unblinking on the way it does not ripple, how no stone may enter and how no fish can leave. Across the park, a squirrel clings to a tree, his heart always exploding, a white dog snapping at his tail. The water reflects the moon and calls down the night, pocked with clouds– the sky split in two, half of it black, half of it blue; there is no color where they merge.
From Guest Contributor, Jeremy S. Griffin
Nov
Chamomile Tea
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
It was once a daily ritual I looked forward to.
Like a Pavlovian dog, the chamomile scent from the kitchen always induced a sense of relaxation, no matter how stressful the day had been. Sitting in my Hepplewhite armchair, my clothes still covered in dust and blood, it took only a few sips for my heart to stop racing and my mind to be wiped clean of the raging torrent of anxieties and self-recrimations that normally plagued me.
Now it was the most agitated moment of my routine, wondering if today was the day she had decided to poison me.
Aug
Tiny Little Man
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
He was a tiny little man, with tiny little hands. He was small enough to fit in my pocket. Sometimes I dressed him up like a tiny little doll.
His appetite was small, as was his intellect. Because his point of view was so narrow, so were his horizons. It wasn’t his fault really. It was just that he was so very tiny.
Everything about him was proportional, from his tiny little head to his tiny little heart. The only problem was you could not trust him as far as you could throw him. It was quite the opposite actually.