Letter

Kats Beach

What's the color of a letter? Is an A a whispered amber? Is a B a bitter lemon? He didn't know.

But he kept writing those letters, his stories told in the tones of the chosen color.

The woman at the stand would smile benevolently and nod.

One day, "I have mail for you!" the envelope marked C! Cosmic latte, he said and they chuckled.

She already had many more letters ready and she hoped he'd skip the D, too many dark and deep colors in that one.

He never figured out it was her and she continued to smile.

100 Word Stories

Needle

Kronbelt

"Empty. Damn dopehead thief."

Everyone made faces. The place stunk.

"Where to now? He has to be somewhere."

Everyone looked at the deserted road.

"We should..."

"Yes, we should do something."

Everyone looked at the elderly woman, standing at the back, knitting.

"This is no time to be knitting, lady."

She smiled.

"I know where he is."

"Where?!"

"At my home. I'm helping him. And no one, I mean no one, will touch him. He's trying."

"Well, why did you come along in the search party then?"

"Because I like to keep an eye on overly enthusiastic people, let's say!"

100 Word Stories

So Many Questions

Avatar Games

I sat at my desk and pondered.

Should I go and interview the man?

Should I shake his hand?

Should I be friendly?

Should I smile?

Should I let him lead the conversation or should I ask him specific questions?

Should I show him the photos? The ones with their faces? The ones where they were still smiling?

And the maps? Should I show him the maps, the ones where the crosses mark the different locations?

Should I ask him...? Should I ask him about the bodies?

And are there more out there? Are there?

Where, please, tell us, where?

100 Word Stories

Bonus Outbreak

Time Remains

“Ah, dreams. Those wondrous moments of sheer leisure. Some are just wonderfully peaceful. Others are inspiring. Most are memorable.”

“Really? I don't recall most of my dreams...”

“Poor you... Such a simpleton. All dreams are a bonus, an added plus to our boring existence.”

“To be honest, not all dreams are a bonus. Some are like an outbreak of something weird.”

“You simple, you! Those would be nightmares and not dreams.”

“It does depend, doesn't it?”

“It does?”

“Yes. If one is somewhat masochistic, a nightmare would be a dream.”

"Ahm..."

"I'm not that much of a simpleton, am I?"

100 Word Stories

Footnote

Milk Wood

Footnote is the prompt, they said.

Footnote... Something about a writer... no, that's boring.

A mystery then. Something that had remained unspoken for many decades.

OK, let's go crazy then, why not!

Let's add a guillotine, but not just any guillotine, one made of solid gold.

Oh, and the Chinese mafia, determined to get to the said guillotine.

Now, the house. A strange house with secret compartments, dusty and dark.

Plus a few characters, odd characters.

Who's the main character?

Yes, that woman, what's her name...

The bell rang. Damn.

"Your time is up."

The Unspoken Footnote. It's a start!

100 Word Stories

Riding Shotgun

Bridgetown

Sitting in the back made him feel sick, very sick.

The vehicles were old and made out of scrap, the rusted parts an adventure each time they bumped against a rock on the road. Plus, it didn't help that all the guys drove like lunatics.

When he was promoted to siting in the front, he couldn't be happier. No more snarky remarks about how green he looked. He was free!

When that unidentified piece of metal poked his right eye out, the first thought that crossed his mind was "it doesn't matter, green no more!"

Priorities, yes, priorities are paramount!

100 Word Stories

Trade

Collins Land

Trading vintage posters had become quite the busy activity.

John had a bunch of them hanging on the walls of his study.

He dusted them and created a website to sell them. Trading was for retards.

The phone rang a few days later.

A man was interested. And John was happy.

They met and John opened the trunk of his car.

"No trading."

The man sneered and walked away.

"Hey!"

The man waved dismissively.

John went back home, updated the website, traded a bunch of posters for different ones.

Yup, John, just go with the flow. It'll be less painful.

100 Word Stories

What's That On the Horizon?

Milk Wood

She sat there and watched the horizon. The view was stunning. She closed her eyes and waited. She didn't know what she was waiting for. She just knew she had to be there. And she sat for a long time.

A dog barked far away and she snapped out of her hypnotic state. The horizon was still there, the view still stunning.

And then she knew why she had to sit there, waiting.

She knew she had to learn that despite everything she was going through, she could still come back and sit down, quietly, peacefully, and be. Just be.

100 Word Stories

Hand

Kronbelt

The hand, the foot, the wall. Don't do it. But they did. A hand, a foot, a wall. Just any wall, just any foot, just any hand. The drawings held the secret, they said. And everyone believed them. We found them. And everyone believed them. They are centuries old. Everyone stared in awe. Scientists came from the capital to check and re-check the wall. And they believed them. By then, it was too late. They couldn't say a word. The hand, the foot, the wall... Tourists loved them. Locals loved them even more. Money and jobs. Yes, money and jobs.

100 Word Stories

Don't Press the Button!

Time Remains

"This is a camera. It takes snapshots as all cameras do. However, this is not a real camera," said the seller, smiling.

The client frowned.

"This is a mind-reader."

The client chuckled.

"You don't believe it."

The client shook his head, a sneer on his lips.

"Whatever you do, don't press the red button. This is how it works."

The client held the camera and he just had to... Click.

A snapshot slowly slid out of the camera.

The last thing the seller saw, a mask of horror on his face, was his own death on the client's mind snapshot.

100 Word Stories

Stay Safe

France Portnawak

"Stay safe and enjoy the trip."

He repeated these words in his mind, over and over again, while trying to keep his head above the icy water. He knew he didn't have much time left.

"Stay safe and enjoy."

And it had been very enjoyable. Very enjoyable, he repeated in his mind.

Good music, good food, nice company. Very nice.

"Stay and enjoy. How nice."

The water was so cold. He couldn't see anything. He could hear people around him, crying and yelling.

"Stay, be nice."

And he felt he was so far away. It was strange.

"Stay... Stay... Nice..."

100 Word Stories

List

Kingpost

"Attention! Today's specials!" said the innkeeper.

The room lit up with enthusiasm.

"Fish and apples!"

A murmur of disappointment...

"Fish, apples AND seagull!"

The crowd went back to the usual chatter, uninterested.

"... and RUM!"

A roar of eagerness thundered throughout the room.

"The fish is fresh and.."

Everyone laughed.

"Well, the rum is OK..."

A round of lively applause.

The innkeeper was sweating profusely by then.

In fact, the rum was the cheapest he could find.

Let's just say the evening ended with him bobbing away inside a barrel, doused in his own rum.

Luckily, they didn't light him up.

100 Word Stories

When Will It Stop Raining

Hestium

When will it stop raining?

When will they be able to stop wearing those silly helmets that didn't let them breathe properly?

The people at the monastery couldn't care less, and he admired them for that.

They disregarded the compulsory quarantine, saying they had to help the ones in need.

They made offerings to some obscure entity and they didn't care about the rain.

That's why they walked around wrapped in this odd material they had come up with themselves, and only at night.

When will it stop raining, he thought. He wanted to go and become one of them.

100 Word Stories

Saint

Ah, the photo of his old bedroom. He couldn't help but smile. It was there he had taken the first steps towards his amazing career in computers, full of hope and dreams, overshadowing his big sister's remarkable career as a Professor.

Behind the bookshelf, that's where he hid it.

Years later, he went back to fetch it. Gone.

When the cops knocked at his door, he knew the governments of those countries weren't happy with him.

The little code-book... They had it. But how??

Sitting in his cold cell, he tried to figure it out, his sister's sneer haunting him.

100 Word Stories

Advanced

France Portnawak

A cool course on something maritime, he couldn't remember what. Something he had seen online, but he hadn't paid much attention. And now he was in this predicament, surrounded by ice and no one in sight. The tiny boat was destroyed and that thing, whatever it was called, frantically blinking some sort of danger signal, was tossed aside.

“And now, Mr. Smart Ass who never reads anything 'til the end? And now? Well, now you're gone.”

People searched for him. They did try...

Surprisingly, the advanced "cool course" had twice as many attendees. People like getting in trouble, don't they?

100 Word Stories

River Crossing

Annwan Willows

"River Crossing..." said the sign.

River? There was nothing there, not a single drop of water in sight.

He looked left. He looked right. If he was to cross anything, he'd follow the rules.

Then he took a step forward and looked left and right again. He had always been very cautious.

He looked at his watch and took another step forward.

That's exactly when, out of nowhere, a huge pack of wolves knocked him down.

The locals nicknamed the pack leader River and crossing River where he usually crossed was not a healthy thing to do, cautiously or not!

100 Word Stories

Remember

Milk Wood

 The vet's schedule is imprinted on my brain. For many months, that was the most important schedule in my life. Mondays and Tuesdays, morning and afternoon. Wednesdays, afternoon and evening. Thursdays, night shift. Fridays, not there. There were other vets there, of course, but... It wasn't the same thing. They hesitated, read the files ten times, messed up the meds. And I used to ask, not sure whom, please, please, don't let him get really ill on a Friday. Or weekend. The vet's schedule is still imprinted on my brain, but I don't need it anymore. My kitty is gone.

100 Word Stories

Unlimited

France Portnawak

 

The phone call was short. The woman spoke fast. The construction or something... The hall is too small...

She spoke too fast. The construction was fine. He checked. The hall was fine too.

The phone call was short. She blabbered a few words. And she hung up. The construction she said, the hall...?

What does she know? She heard stories about this and that and she had the gall to think she could replace him, yes, the gall.

The other phone call was also short. "How much?" The man also replied fast.

No one would ever take his place. Ever.

100 Word Stories

Behind a Bush

Beltane

Just pretend that fog is wonderful.

Just pretend the trees are magnificent.

Pretend, just pretend the rays of sun are not burning the grass dry.

Pretend.

Part from your heart.

Part from your soul.

Someone will look for you.

Someone will shout for you.

Just pretend you're not sinking, pretend your whole life is not running through your head, a host of bizarre what ifs.

Just pretend you can still move your legs, pretend the thick mud is not pulling you down, dragging your dreams into the darkness.

Dreams?

There are no dreams. Only tragic nightmares. And the suffocating fog.

100 Word Stories

Tilting

Time Remains

Imagine being in hospital. You can't move. You can barely breathe.

No one believes you.

Imagine peering through the window and seeing the elegant bridge crossing the river all lit up, beautiful at night.

Imagine the little dots of light coming from the fishing boats, like fireflies.

Yes, imagine smiling and thinking I will die in a few minutes, but I'll die having the most gorgeous view.

Imagine they still don't believe you. And you still can't breathe.

But you're smiling. You're smiling because that tilted postcard window is your hope, your only hope, the hope that keeps you breathing.

100 Word Stories

A toast!

Inaka

“A toast! My kingdom for a toast!” The crowd at the café chuckled. They all knew him. They all loved his silly jokes. The room was always dark. That gave them a sense of protection and the silly, often crude, jokes made them feel like they belonged. One day he didn't show up. They looked for him everywhere. Weeks went by. Then they received a letter at the café. "I'm fine. I got a job digging up some ruins. The archaeologists are OK. But they lack one thing. They don't have toast!" The crowd at the café chuckled once again.

100 Word Stories

Wine

Collins Land

Everyone sat at the table and toasted. Everyone smiled. Yes, that fake smile that goes well with wine and the possibility of a new job. He thought about the cool car he'd buy, the shinny new apartment, even the weekend lodge by the lake. And then he blurted out that stupid thing. He had to say it, didn't he? Why? Because he was a moron. "This wine is not one of the best I have had." No more job for you, you simpleton. Why had he decided to apply for a job at a winery? He didn't even like wine.

100 Word Stories

Pizza

Collins Land

It's the best food on earth, he said. What did you put in this? It tastes funny. Oh, it's the seasoning. I can't remember, but I tossed everything I had on it. And he laughed, amused by his friends' hesitation. Eat it, eat it. I made plenty of them for the picnic. And they did eat. When they started dropping like flies, he scratched the name of each one of them out from a list. He had that list since he was 13, when they made him eat pizza with rat meat in it. Revenge is such a sweet thing.

100 Word Stories

Small Talk

Annwn Willows

Small talk is such an effective way of getting to know people, he thought. The event was promoted as an informal get-together to meet your soulmate. He needed a soulmate, desperately. After the usual introductions and polite smiles, the whole conversation took an unexpected turn when one of the ladies said she enjoyed being tossed in the river. At first, he didn't understand what she meant. He laughed nervously and he noticed she did have a strange color. "It's the river," she said. "Too much pollution." He nodded. Let's just say he didn't find his soulmate. He wasn't that desperate.

100 Word Stories

To and Too

Binemist

This train was too cramped. But she had no other option than to take this one.

A man was playing with a rope.

Too cramped, too awkward.

She wanted to get there quickly. The boat was ready and she was ready. Sailing around the world was her dream, and that dream was so close. She only needed to survive this bloody crowded train.

Suddenly, the train hiccuped, startling everyone.

When she woke up, a rope tied her to a pipe on the wall and the police were knocking at the door.

She wanted to scream. Horrified, she realized she couldn't...

100 Word Stories

How Does That Grab You?

ChangHigh Trinity Sisters

"How does that grab you?"

Silence. Her friend shrugged, a hint of contempt dripping from his lips.

"Any other ideas?"

Her friend shrugged again.

She was on the verge of screaming and tossing all the brochures in the garbage.

"No cruise, too many germs. No camping, too many bugs. No flying, too many.. what was it again?"

Her friend sneered. She could see he was amused and that only made things worse.

"What about the show?"

He shrugged.

"Bloody hell. Just tell me what you want."

He turned and walked away.

She nodded.

"Yep, not worth it. Glad it's over."

100 Word Stories

Get a Life

Trip, fall, get up, stand straight.

Trip, fall, get up, stand straight.

Trip, fall, get up, stand straight.

Drip, crawl, fed up, stand straight.

Drip, maul, fed up, stand.

Blip, tall, fed up, stand.

Trip, trip, drip, blip.

Sip.

Stand.

Straight.

Hate, hate, hate!

Hate...

Well, trip, stand, wait.

The tap sang this song. Drip, trip, blip. On and on.

Stand, wait, stand, wait.

The tap sang this song. On and on.

Skip, blip.

Skip, stand.

Skip, wait.

Skip, the tap sang this song, skip.

No.

Skip.

No.

Slip.

No.

Stand.

Life? What? Life?

What life?

Get a life.

Trip.

100 Word Stories

Why is Mother Crying?

Collins Land

Why is mother crying? 

Why does she not listen? 

Why is she stubborn? 

Why? 

Why does she live in the past? 

Why does she have those photos up on the wall? 

The architect. The painter. The President. 

Why? 

They tried, she said once, but she was too good for them. 

Why? 

She sneered in contempt. She was too good for them. 

Why is mother crying? 

Why? 

They never acknowledged her talent, never. 

Why? 

She shrugged away their stupidity. 

Why? 

She doesn't care. She doesn't listen. She is stubborn and will never change. 

Why is mother crying? 

That's why, that's why.

100 Word Stories

Fire

Collins Land

The fire crackled, sputtering snapping sounds. 

The evening began with a quiet conversation about something, she couldn't remember what. 

Then, slowly but surely, everything started collapsing. He snapped, venomous words, venomous sentences and venomous hatred. He sputtered spite and a storm of grudges, loading and malevolence. His skin sizzled, tiny drops of sweat popping here and there on his forehead. 

She sat in silence. The fire used to look so beautiful, so warm and welcoming. But, for some reason, it didn't today. 

Silence, the whole evening. And the fire spoke and crackled and snapped. 

The next morning, she was gone.

100 Word Stories

Target No More

Time Remains

"This is the hand that feeds you!"

The boys' silence screamed horrors of pain and misery.

There was only one way out of this. They knew it.

That evening, while the police scoped the house, all three boys, aged 5, 8 and 14, sat outside. None of them spoke, not even the 5 year old. They knew nothing. The father had walked into the woods and had never returned.

An aunt came over. The police left.

The dresser had to go. The hidden compartment, they had found long ago, came in handy after all. The body would never be found.

100 Word Stories

Fruitcake

Time Remains

The teenagers sat side by side. "What is it like to live with a dead person?" he asked. She looked down. Then she looked up again and stared at the horizon. He knew what she meant. He was living with a dead person too but had never admitted it to anyone else. He sat closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I'm not crazy," she said. "I know..." he whispered. "She's just dead inside and she doesn't know it." He nodded. That's when he knew he would be the one to take her away from it all.

100 Word Stories

Pick One

 

Time Remains

Pick one, they said. Yeah. Easier said than done. There were so many wonderful pieces available and he just couldn't choose one. So, he decided to do what anyone else would. Flip a coin, right? He smiled. OK, that one will do fine. Everyone said he was always distracted and this time he would prove them wrong. This was just perfect. A March! There! When he was kicked out, the groom's father was foaming at the mouth and roaring "This is the bloody Funeral March, the Funeral March". He just whispered "Well, the poor bride didn't look that happy anyway".

100 Word Stories

Still

 

Milk Wood

He looked outside. Nothing... He squinted and felt trapped. The river was still there, flowing freely. But where were they? No boats, no whales, no dragons. They weren't coming after all, were they? He squinted again and thought he saw a... No, nothing. The people here mustn't know he was expecting them. Then the horn sounded. Alarm, alarm. He rushed back to the window, but... "Ronnie, what's going on?" He shook his head. "Come on. It's time. Let's get you bathed." He knew one day they'd come and rescue him. "And don't forget to take your pills," said the nurse.

100 Word Stories

Puppet No More

Gehena Vampire Clan

She hated being a puppet in his hands. What gave her some peace was walking down the pathway with the old trees. One day, she noticed something shiny to the right. A marble perhaps? The next day, she brought some beads and left them there. And that's when the gifts appeared on the pathway. First a bit of glass. Then, a button, an old key. It made her smile. It gave her strength. And she said "no more". She walked away from him, for good. Today, she still walks that pathway, exchanging gifts with her new friend, a very generous crow.

100 Word Stories

NaNoWriMo Pep Talk

Milk Wood

NaNoWriMo 2020 Pep Talk for the Virtual Writers blog. Posted here for my future reference.

Milk Wood, Virtual Writers

Lizzie Gudkov

November 7, 2020

Time usually flies pretty quickly when we're immersed in a writing project. Yet, it seems to fly even quicker in November! After the fast-paced, highly motivated writing happening at the beginning of the month, your writing pace seems to be slowing down. And you're panicking, right? I know I am... What can we do?

I'm sure you've heard it all before. Write this way, don't write that way, take notes, don't take notes, keep going, take a break. What?! Get me out of here!! 

No! Don't go! You cannot give up. Writing is tough. Yes, it is. Life happens. Yes, it does. However, giving up is not an option. 

So, here are five ideas to get you unstuck during NaNoWriMo®! 

And Then What? – if you go beyond the end of your story, what happens then? What can you bring into your plot from what happens outside its framework? 

You Are a Character in Your Own Book Now! - What if YOU waltzed into your own story? Would you admonish one of your characters? Would you encourage anyone? Would you rearrange the furniture? *grin* Would you get annoyed and go wash those dirty dishes in the sink yourself? Get your characters moving around you, and *evil grin* eavesdrop on what they are saying about you behind your back! 

Upside Down – what if the good became bad and the bad became angels? How would your terribly evil character act as an angel? What would he do if you told him he has to behave? You can even sneak inside your story again and tell him yourself. How would he react? Would he throw a tantrum? Ha! 

A Wombat? A Shoebill? A Glass Frog? - transform all your characters into animals and see how they would relate to one another. Try to think of unusual animals. Make one hate the color of the other! Or love it, and be extremely annoying because he wants to take a photo for his social media! 

Who Are You?! – what if a character from your favorite author decides to waltz into your story? How would your main character react? What kind of impact would it have on the other characters? Would all your characters, friends and foes, unite to expel him from your story? And how about the story itself? How would it change? Could there be any secret alliances in the making after this unexpected intruder was kicked out? 

These are only a few fun activities that will trick your brain out of being stuck. Will they help increase the word-count? I don't know. Will they trigger fresh ideas for your plot? I really don't know. But one thing will happen for sure. You will not give up! 

Keep writing. You can do this! 

See you at Milk Wood. :) 

Lizzie 

--------------

Lizzie Gudkov is a fiction writer born in Portugal. After a career as a teacher of English, she rediscovered writing. In her blog http://lizziegudkov.blogspot.com, she features fiction mostly (micro, flash and short fiction), but also poetry and a few opinion articles. She is also a six time winner of the NaNoWriMo and a five time winner of the Camp NaNoWriMo. As part of her writing path, Lizzie hosts and takes part in multiple writing events, largely in the virtual world of Second Life®. 

Social Links: Blog | Facebook

NaNoWriMo 2020

 

Cluster

 

Candia Urban Lounge

Throw it in the bin and forget about it.

But this area is a cluster of infected cases.

Throw it in the bin and forget it.

Walking away is not an easy task when your conscience nags you.

He had to go back. He grabbed the bin, dragged it away to the dump area and chuck it into the fire.

The bin was closed the whole time. He made sure of it.

When he got ill, he was tossed in that same neighborhood, forgotten.

The others, they kept throwing infected stuff in the bin, carelessly, just like they did before.

100 Word Stories

Chainsaw

Enoshima

Grasp a line of thought. Or try to.

And those animal heads mounted on the wall. The moody embalmed fish that was supposed to look alive and looked even deader. All conspiring to kill.

The door swung open and there it was. They dumped it on the table.

To work.

The chainsaw slashed through the skin, the meat, the bones. Cracking sounds signing the final surrender.

A leg, another leg. An arm, another arm.

The head... Oh, the head... That grimace of anger.

Good thing they didn't have to mount her head on the wall. The fish wouldn't like it.

100 Word Stories

Plump

 

Avidya

The herb expert always had a suggestion and a word of advice.

“And to lose weight?"

Herbs. He took them all.

And then the cramps, the headache, the nausea, the vomiting.

He went to hospital.

"What did you take?"

“This and that,” he replied uneasy, “this and that.”

When he got home, he took some more. He wanted to be elegant and fit into those tight jeans he bought by mistake.

More cramps, more headaches. The nausea, oh, the nausea.

Herbs for this, herbs for that. Enough.

"Fuck the jeans," he cried out loud. "Fuck the expert. I like plump!"

100 Word Stories

Revolution

Betelgeuse

A giant creature moved forward sluggishly, its head bowed down.

They knew it was coming. They thought they had enough time to prepare themselves.

They drafted a plan. They created the trap.

They didn't monitor its growth. It's OK, some said, it'll be fine.

When they saw it, they knew they were in trouble.

Who'll be the sacrificial hero? Who? No one wanted to be a hero.

Arguments, fighting. Some died. Let's feed those to the beast. No, no respect for the dead.

Some were imprisoned.

Yes, let the revolution begin now... before everyone gets killed, one way or another.

100 Word Stories

The Faint Sound of a Piano

BCC

The faint sound of a piano reminded her that she had to change...

From her tower of self-righteousness, she knew everything better than anyone. But she felt hopeless. She couldn't reach out. Pack up your past and put it away now, she thought. This is not what you want. You want to be happy. But she couldn't. She just couldn't. It was far too late. She had to put up that front. She knew better, she was smarter, she just was.

The faint sound of a piano made her cry. She was so lonely and it was everyone else's fault.

100 Word Stories

Kitten

Collins

I dream of you in colors that don't exist. In sounds that are as silent as a forest full of life.

I dream of you sitting next to me, cloaked in shiny certainty, wrapped in playful energy.

I dream of you being you and jumping and running.

I whisper a thousand moments of you.

I whisper and smile, desperately trying to keep you here.

I breathe the past to escape the now. But you're not here anymore.

And you'll never be here again. Never again.

I have to let you go, don't I?

I just have to let you go.

100 Word Stories

Boxer

 

Avatar Games

Heal. The pain. Some pain. No... The darkness will stay for as long as I live, he thought. Fight for money, fight for food. Fight. Be nothing but a smashed up face everyone will have forgotten by tomorrow. Move on to the next town. Fight some more. The posters plastered all over. The money. The food. And onward he went. Town after town. They all looked alike. Until that day. Her kid, her dog, her smile. It's complicated, she said. He didn't think it was. It was actually quite simple. Heal. The pain. All of it. Just heal. And smile.

100 Word Stories

Money

 

Avatar Games

Just doodle a few things on that piece of paper and you can charge a million for it. Just throw in something strange, something mysterious, something... unusual. They will buy it. We can pretend we're millionaires. And we can sail around the world. It's not that easy? Come on, don't be like that. Here, a paper and some crayons. Just draw something, anything. I want the money. We can go on a shopping spree, buy jewelry until we drop. Oh, come on, don't be like that. Don't walk away. Don't you dare. I want the money. You can do it...

100 Word Stories

Indigo

Enoshima

“Indigo, wash those windows squeaky clean, you hear?”

“Yes, 'mam.”

“Indigo, those windows are our money-makers, you hear?”

“Yes, 'mam.”

“Indigo, look at those mountains. Aren't they magnificent?"

“Yes, 'mam, they are."

"Indigo, have you ever been up there?"

"No, 'mam, I haven't. You?"

"Don't ask questions. Work, work, work."

“Yes, 'mam.”

He stood by the windows and looked up. If he did leave right now, would he still have a job when he returned? Indigo this, Indigo that.

"Where are you going, Indigo?!"

He waved and left.

The mountains would never be stifled by window frames for him again.

100 Word Stories