Beginning

bwc village

 

Many years later, he went back up the hill. The tire swings were still there. He swayed his legs back and forth as they had done. Why did it have to happen? Why? The cold night embraced him, cuddling him in its arms. He started to cry. Why can't I go back and undo everything? In the distance, he heard a train. Their train. The train that would take them away one day. The train that had killed her... At sunrise, he dried his tears and finally summoned the courage to take the train. For you. For us, he shouted.

100 Word Stories

Dirty

 

bwc village

A guitar case and no guitar, plus a sleeping bag. A trip to the mountain gone wrong. The police searched everywhere. Nothing. One day, he was back, holding his guitar. The police asked him questions. "The guitar code was dirty again," he said. "I planned to go to horse days." Horse days? "Yes. A historical field trip, not this garbage." The police had no clue what he meant, but they were offended. A nutcase, no doubt. The moment they tried to grab him, he held his guitar up and... disappeared. One wonders where he ended up on a corrupted code.

100 Word Stories

Pathetic

 

Binemist

Pathetic. The word reverberated in her mind. The beach house was nearly empty now. He moved on and got offended when she found out. He begged for "a second chance". But she packed up her stuff and walked away. Deal with it. The problem was, he didn't want his "new life" anymore. "It wasn't fun". Get a house, have kids, go to work, come back home. Suddenly, what he had with her was what he had with the other one. Boring. Shame the beach house was one of the casualties. She moved on. It's nice to be free, she thought.

100 Word Stories

A Stable Tin of Beans

Milk Wood

Fix fence, check how stable the tin of beans is, she typed. Stable tin of beans? Where had that come from? She continued typing her To-Do list. She shook her head. Then, she realized she was stuck. She couldn't think of anything else to add. Tin of beans. Tin of beans. Check. Check, check if stable. She decided to check the cupboard. A tin of beans, check. Stable... Oh. It was cracked open. Something was growing inside. She took a closer look and a voice in her head said "Thank you". The green spores were the last thing she remembered.

100 Word Stories

Gemstone

Milk Wood

The art installation Gemstone featured a naked mannequin with a television for a head, holding a megaphone. Its right arm was missing. Find meaning mode activated. Broadcasting television slogans while the body suffers the pain. Pleased with his interpretation, he approached the artist and shared his view. The artist looked at him, puzzled. He nodded, trying to prompt the artist to say something. The artist said "No, we got the mannequin on sale. They had lost the head and an arm, so they gave us an old tv and a megaphone.” Gemstone?! They should've named it Lacking a Gemstone, then.

100 Word Stories

An Empty Cup

Fenris Isle

 The café was still closed. "The clients are outside." The stress. Let them wait, said the manager. Wait?! The clients will leave. The manager, furious, slammed the door open, letting a flood of people in. "Line up, ladies and gentlemen." Some of the clients left. And like so, day after day, the café went bankrupt. "Now we're unemployed." The manager sneered. "I've got a job for you." The staff looked surprised. "I have a... parallel business in the basement." Six people were counting bills. Millions. "Where is this money coming from?!" The manager smiled. "No one knows." And he winked.

100 Word Stories

Tokyo

 

Missing Melody

He booked a trip to Japan. He wanted to visit Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe. He wanted to just sit and enjoy the beauty of the cherry blossoms. So, he landed in Tokyo. He was hungry. He went to a street vendor and sat down to eat. And he stayed. He ate and stayed some more. The food was so good, Kyoto and everywhere else would have to wait. A few months later, he moved to Tokyo, and his life changed. Strange guys with massive tattoos hired him to be a bouncer. He'd do anything for that food, even go to jail.

100 Word Stories

An Old Postcard

 

Milk Wood

Dear You,

Here's an unrequested update that will cause a sudden flare-up of indigestion, I know.

He took everything. The jewels, the money, even the hand-painted dishes no one liked.

He did leave a rather offensive note behind that I'll refrain from copying here.

Now, how do you want to roll? Shall we hunt him down or simply ignore him?

Crazy question, I know. I can hear your swearing from the future. I know your answer.

I've gathered a team. I know where he hangs out.

Meet you at the usual place. Tomorrow, midnight.

Bring the meat grinder.

Yours truly.

100 Word Stories

Give Up

Bridgetown

Give up. Give up. Give up. And he tossed and turned on the bunk bed. Nightmares turning into night sweats. His ears beating to the drum of his heart. Tomorrow. It'll be another day. Tomorrow. But it never was another day. It was the same day, over and over again. The same intelligence gathering. The same raids. The same ambushes. The same killings. The same deaths. A never-ending string of horrors. Give up... He wished closing his eyes would make everything disappear. The noise, the nightmares, his heartbeat. Give up... That nagging voice hammered on. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'll give up.

100 Word Stories

Railing

 

Collins

The stairs to the basement had no railing. "No one ever goes down there anyway," he said. One day, they decided to sell the house. There was nothing but a small apothecary cabinet with empty drawers in the basement. "Who put this here?" She shrugged. "Garbage." That's when the problems started. He tripped and hit his head on the corner of the cabinet. She twisted an ankle and he dislocated a shoulder while trying to move it. Enough was enough. They decided to leave it behind. The cabinet whispered "Railing". They rushed to sell the house for half its worth.

100 Word Stories