Posts Tagged ‘Home’
Apr
God Bless America
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
HISTORICAL FICTION ENTRY:
He was met by his family at the Orlando airport after 12 long months of active duty.
Captain Steven Hooks was a free man. Now that the Army didn’t need him anymore, he could get back to being a husband and a father and re-open his dental practice.
Gloria, his wife, suggested a movie for his first night home. They gave the kids baths, dressed them in cozy pajamas, and loaded them into the station wagon.
Upon arriving at the booth he handed the cashier the money but she wouldn’t take it.
“Sorry, but this drive-in is for whites only.”
From Guest Contributor E. Barnes
E. has works published at Entropy, Spillwords, The Purple Pen, The Haven, and several works are in the anthology, “NanoNightmares.”
Apr
Until Further Notice
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Thanks to social distancing, my co-worker Connor and I are finally alone. Only two employees at a time are permitted in the break room to clean out their lockers.
“Did you know Amazon Prime ships steel caskets in two days?” Connor looks at me, and my gut drops.
“What?”
“According to CNN, death rates are rising. We need to plan.”
Even when he says crazy things, he’s irresistibly cute.
“Look, it’s okay,” I say, “At least we weren’t fired.”
“I guess,” Connor sighs, “But how long will we work from home?”
I shrug. “So kiss me now before you can’t.”
From Guest Contributor Tammy Smith
Tammy is a social worker from New Jersey. Her writing has been published or is forthcoming in The Esthetic Apostle, Ailment: Chronicles of Illness Narratives, The Dewdrop, io Literary Journal, and Ariel Chart.
Apr
Botticelli
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
HISTORICAL FICTION ENTRY:
As Sandro walked to his home on Via Borgo Ognissanti, he was so completely preoccupied he did not pay attention to his surroundings and collided forcefully with an unfortunate gentleman. The moderately obscure artist’s parchments went sprawling on the brick walkway, some fluttering quite a distance in the breeze.
“Sandro, please look where you’re going.”
“I’m sorry, Filippo, but I’ve just made the most amazing discovery.”
Hoping his eccentric neighbor had some interesting gossip to share, Filippo inquired further.
“There is apparently a game, a quite popular one, that is being played around town, and they’ve named it after me!”
From Guest Contributor Sheila Fields
Apr
Stuck In A Cabin With You
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
HISTORICAL FICTION ENTRY:
Pete stared out the window, surprised at his boredom. ‘Cabin fever’ was becoming a thing. Alan and Dick each had areas staked out, and Pete felt like any incursion on his part might lead to an argument.
All he could see outside were stars. The moon would come into view in a few minutes, but that brought its own set of painful thoughts.
The quarantine order had come several days ago. John signed off saying, “You’re safer there than back home.”
Apollo 12 was stuck in lunar orbit with a mysterious pandemic spreading on Earth. Pete did not feel safe.
From Guest Contributor Emma Sparks
Apr
My Usual Jog
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
I stretch my legs inhaling and exhaling. It’s a beautiful abundant sunshiny day, and I’m ready for my jog. Not many people are out and that’s normal nowadays.
Each day I pass the same houses. My favorite is the one with the bright yellow sunflowers along the front walkway. What else do people have to do in the spring, so why not make their yards look nice?
Since jogging, my legs have strengthened and I’m more energetic. I’ve been working from home and cooking more, but I miss the previous world. However, I won’t let Covid-19 take away my jogging.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Mar
Prairie Phantom
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Sand rolls steadily along the prairie with a wild wind. The fox finds his home between the sagebrush and through the sunflowers. He leaps airily at ease with his snout grinning. Atop the hill, he shimmies about and slides down while birds depart. Below he creeps to the cemetery and waits for night to lay a veil. A gentle chill glides along as starlight washes over weary stone. With a swift bark and a bound, he weaves among the graves. Moonlight tickles his whiskers and mist wanders in. Here the fox dances with ghosts who once called his prairie home.
From Guest Contributor Kristi Kerico
Kristi is a psychology major at Pikes Peak Community College. She is studying to become a horticultural therapist. She currently works at a bookstore and volunteers at a zoo and nature center. She began writing after enrolling in a creative writing course at PPCC. She enjoys poetry the most, considering it’s brief yet complex beauty. She also loves writing with a focus on nature.
Feb
Parasitic Sea
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
A stillness descends on the empty beach. The children are asleep in cottages. How many of you stepped on shells and hurt yourselves? How many of you were stung by jellyfish?
A small light shines far away over the dark sea. It rushes faster than the waves, dashes across the beach, and dives deep into the scratched feet of the dreaming children. And it divides, multiplies, and devours.
The next morning, the children wake and run toward the sea. They leap into the waves and swim away.
It’s time to go home. Are your parents going to miss you, kids?
From Guest Contributor Natsumi Tanaka
Translated from Japanese by Toshiya Kamei
Natsumi Tanaka is a writer living in Kyoto, Japan. Her short stories have appeared in journals such as Anima Solaris, Kotori no kyuden, and Tanpen. She is the author of the short story collection Yumemiru ningyo no okoku (2017). Translations of her short fiction have appeared in Fanzine, Star 82 Review, and The William & Mary Review, among others.
Dec
Humbug New Year’s
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
On the television, the ball in Time’s Square dropped. “Happy New Year,” the crowd shouted. I gulped my wine, not a fan of champagne, and shut the TV. After all, I detested New Year’s Eve. It’s a lonely holiday for some, myself included, and I’d rather get drunk on wine in the comfort of my own home, warm by the fire.
Tired, I took off my robe, climbed into bed and turned off the lamp. I told myself, tomorrow would be just another day.
Instead of spending the first day of the new year relaxing, I typed my resignation letter.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Dec
One Last Time
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
“Be a good boy,” said my mother. “Stop playing cricket in the graveyard with you likkle hooligan friend. I don’t want to hear that you trying to see duppies by washing you face with rice water.”
I didn’t want to disappoint my mother, a God-fearing woman, who left Jamaica ten Christmases ago to work as a hospice nurse in Miami, comforting the soon-to-be dead. I’d been a good boy until last week when she came home in a box. So who could blame me (and I know she would forgive me) if I tried to see her one last time.
From Guest Contributor Geoffrey Philp
Geoffrey is the author of Garvey’s Ghost
Nov
Wild Geese
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Geese rise from campus soccer field, into falling evening. Wings flutter in unison. No stragglers.
You should be on the way home. But you watch, transfixed, weight of homework, aloneness sliding from consciousness.
The geese honk, harsh, soothing, moon on their wings. You like to think it’s joy, that they sense the vastness of unfettered space. They don’t give a fuck about the observers and voyeurs below.
You wish you could join. Fly, part of a team. They fly farther and farther, still calling. Don’t look behind.
All too soon, night engulfs them. You stride home, feet heavy, treading constraint.
From Guest Contributor Yash Seyedbagheri.
Yash is a graduate of Colorado State University’s MFA program in fiction. A recipient of two Honorable Mentions from Glimmer Train, his story, “Strangers,” was nominated for The Best Small Fictions. His work is forthcoming or has been published in Microfiction Monday, Unstamatic, Maudlin House, Door Is A Jar Magazine, and Ariel Chart, among others.