101-300 words
I float in the nebulous twilight between awake and asleep when something startles me. My heart pounds in my ears. What was that? An intruder? My dreams? There’s a muffled sound downstairs. Nope, not my dreams. I retrieve my handgun…
I lost Puddles today. No, not lost as in she can be found. Lost. Forever. I sit on the bench under the ancient oak tree in our yard. “Have you ever lost someone?” I whisper to the tree. Branches sway,…
I believe a story grows like a tree. It begins as a seed—a word, a phrase, a question, an idea—planted on a blank page with no promise of what it will become. I water it with words until a sapling…
Every night my love lies in my arms, and I tell her I love her, and I know it’s true. I gave her my vows for better or worse, in sickness or health, till death do us part. I kiss…
“Oh man, he beat me to it!” my roommate Bryan exclaims as he lounges on the living room couch. “Who beat you to what?” I ask, startled by his sudden outburst. He stops scrolling his phone and looks up at…
At three minutes to midnight, the observation window of the orbiting crew capsule shattered into a million pieces, and she was sucked into the vacuum of space, instantly transformed from a vibrant, living human to a dark, dead satellite, silently…
I. Knowing I know I am different. I see others walking around without a thought or care, with no self-awareness or knowledge of who they are or what they are doing, lost in their own little world. But I am…
I gave her the kidney in good faith, just as I gave her the ring in contemplation of marriage. Because I loved her, and would do anything for her. My soon-to-be wife, for better or worse, till death do us…
A reporter once asked the president, “Should conditions warrant, would you ever consider suspending habeas corpus?” “Habeas who?” asked the president. “Habeas Corpus,” answered the reporter. The president shrugged. “Well, I don’t know. Habeas Corpus sounds like a Latin name…
“Four, three, two, one…” chanted the crowd in Times Square. The ball dropped, fireworks exploded, and everyone cheered. Lilly raised her flute to toast the New Year—relieved to leave last year—and her miserable old life behind. Ready to embrace a…
In the near future of a dark world, the JoyCom Corporation sells mood bracelets that help people regulate emotions—inducing joy and happiness in place of sadness and despair. Feeling blue? A Joy Jolt is a button press away. Having a…
In a parallel universe, President Daniel Triumph was holding a press conference. A reporter asked if he was concerned about terrorist sleeper cells activating after the bombing of Iranizbad. The President responded: “Our dumb former president, ‘Sleepy Joe Lyin’, let…
It was a grueling eight-hour shift that felt like forever, but finally, it was over. Joe somehow drove home without crashing, and he staggered through the front door of his tiny one-bedroom apartment. Kicking off his shoes, he took a…
I knew she was his wife. I knew better than to get involved with her. But I did anyway. She understood me like no one ever had. We shared secrets, hopes, and dreams. She was my soulmate, my lover, and…
I lie in bed waiting, silent and still. The glow of the nightlight casts eerie shadows on the wall. Above me, the heater vent gapes with slatted teeth. Air stirs. Shadows flicker. Two pinpoints of red appear, the hungry eyes…
One rainy Saturday morning, Connor, a very ordinary, bored-out-of his-mind teenager, was looking for a snack in the pantry when he found a vegan cookbook on the top shelf. The cover featured a colorful montage of salads, soups, and sandwiches…
Claire’s eyes lingered on the glittering diamond ring in the display case, its finely cut facets catching the light of promises to come. Her boyfriend, Donny, beamed and squeezed her hand. Today should be the happiest day of her life,…
“Jimmy, dear, why don’t you take a break for a couple of hours? Let’s try out that new Thai restaurant in town. I hear it’s great. We haven’t gone out in ages.” “I can’t Babe, I’m working on this project,…
Professor Chet Baker leans forward and peers through the magnifying glass at the worn pages of the ancient manuscript, slowly making out the faded Greek words. As he reads, a story unfolds that transports him back twenty-three hundred years to…
Another unbearable, sweltering summer day. I pour myself a soft drink and open the freezer for more ice. Empty. Great. My ice maker has stopped working. I remember reading a post earlier on the local online community webpage that said…
I can’t be in love. Can I? But if it’s not love, what is it? This stirring I feel inside. When he calls my name, my heart flutters. When he laughs, my spirit soars. When I’m near him, I can…
I open my eyes. Ghoulish, dark shapes with twisted limbs and spiny leaves dot the vast expanse to the distant mountains. Joshua trees, I think. Who am I? How did I get here? I have no clue. I also have…
Saint Peter greets Pope Francis at the Pearly Gates with a warm embrace. “Welcome to heaven,” says Peter. “We weren’t expecting you quite so soon.” A choir of white-robed angels with harps strike up the heavenly anthem reserved for the…
After two hours of digging in the blistering tropical sun, my shovel hit something hard and shuddered with a dull thunk. I carefully removed dirt, gradually revealing an ancient-looking wooden chest, fastened with a large rusted lock. After years of…
I hold her hand, barely able to see her closed eyes in the dim light as she sleeps, so peaceful and still. I marvel at her sight; she is every bit as beautiful now as the day she said “I…
I’m being watched. I feel eyes on me, studying my every move. I look around my little apartment, searching for a bug, a hidden camera, a microphone. Anything. I find nothing. Am I going crazy? They say computers spy on…