Blocker

Mystical Falls

"The bike?"

"Yes! She took it. She says the oddest things. She listens to what I say and reorganizes everything in her head only to spit out sentences filled with hatred. And she says one thing one day to say the exact opposite the next, but swearing she never ever said what she said first. She is crazy. So, I blocked her. There."

"I wasn't talking about her. And I said blocker, not block her."

"Oh... Well, I suppose I'm a pop-up blocker then. She won't pop up in my life again, that's for sure. Sadly, neither will my bike."

100 Word Stories

Anywhere

Majesterium

Anywhere was a town in the middle of nowhere. Life was tough.

One day, a stranger came into town. They didn't like strangers.

"Anywhere a man can sleep around here?" He asked.

No one answered.

The next day, he was gone and he never came back.

However, he left a thank you note and a stone."Bury it."

And they did.

A year later, they heard some noises, dug up the stone, but it had disappeared. Instead, they found a tunnel with thousands of precious stones.

The... stone... had hatched and people began to think that perhaps strangers weren't always bad.

100 Word Stories

Scoreboard

 

Bmc Village

The scoreboard was off. The race was over.

She had taken her jet ski to the limit and broken it.

The scoreboard would be on again in a few weeks and she had no money.

That's when her life of crime started. A few tools. A few parts. A whole jet ski, why not!

She painted it in her colors so no one would recognize it.

Now, she was sitting in jail. Not because of the jet ski but because she had messed with... the scoreboard.

She thought, what the heck, I'm not going to be dead in the water!

100 Word Stories

100 Word Stories

May 31 2022. The seventeenth anniversary of the 100 Word Stories Podcast. It's a remarkable body of work by Laurence Simon (R. in Second Life). He vowed to write a story, 100 words long, every day till the day he dies. And he has written hundreds of stories.

Inspired by R.'s commitment to story writing, I started taking part in the Weekly Challenge. My very first story was read in January 2012. It was called "I Don't Know". I remember that it took me hours - yes, hours! - to write and polish 100 words! And I was so nervous about sending it out.

It's hard to believe 10 years have gone by. I've written over 500 drabbles, continue to take part in the podcast and am forever grateful to R.'s inspiration and generous support over the years.

More stories to come!

Major Consensus

Wonderland 2.0

Major Bunny hurried through the main hall.

"What happened?" Asked Benny, the only human around. He had been adopted by the Bunnies as a kid.

"Not now, Benny, not now."

The bells clanged, prompting everyone to gather.

"Fellow Bunnies, we've been called to action."

Everyone murmured.

"Consensus Bunny has received the order. This is not a drill."

That's when the bunnies stopped being bunnies. And how relieved they were. Thousands of years pretending.

They were still small, but they weren't cute anymore.

"Let's harvest some humans!" Shouted Major Bunny.

And the mob scattered in all directions, much to Benny's horror.

100 Word Stories

Spook

Raven Lake

Frederick was an old ghost. He enjoyed startling anyone who approached the house. But that didn't last long. After a century or two, another old ghost showed up, Victor. They argued. Victor laughed and Frederick punched him. Victor punched back. Exhausted, they agreed to frighten the town folk together. It was a good thing Victor showed up. The new generation wasn't as gullible. They would laugh and pull out those hideous little devices, pointing them left and right. It was humiliating. He'd have to talk to Victor about it. Perhaps they could punch a few of them! Ummm... Too much?

100 Word Stories

Train

Tierra de Fuego

"The pilot wasn't trained properly," said the inspector.

"I trained him myself. I've been training pilots for 30 years, as you know."

"I think you're losing your... skills."

Silence.

"How about the huge hole on the side of the plane?!"

"It'll go in my report, but it wasn't the cause of..."

"Not the cause?! Five people were sucked out."

The inspector smiled and walked away.

Thirty years. He waited, thirty years. He had always wanted to be a pilot, but the idiot flunked him again and again. He ended up becoming a mere scribe. This is how you get even.

100 Word Stories

Every Good Intention

Tatty Soup

Every good intention starts with a candle, he thought... at first. The solemn emptiness was cold and the minute light gave him hope, a nervous flicker betraying the uncertainty of the moment. Was he really good enough? Was he worthy? He shifted his weight from one leg to the other. Every good intention starts with a candle. But he doesn't think that anymore. The nervous flicker turned into a blazing nightmare. No one asked. So, he never mentioned his candle. And when someone said "Shall we light a candle, Father?", he always remembered the cold horror, crawling up his back.

100 Word Stories

Thicket

 

Wonderland 2.0

The tiny hops of joy brought light to a golden field. The sun. The warmth. Her smile covered by a mask. She motioned to pick a flower, but hesitated and smiled.

It wasn't the time. Let them live, she thought. Let them live.

Cast a spell, the old woman had said. And she smiled once more.

Kindness. She nodded. Was kindness a spell?

Early bird and all that, but with kindness.

The tiny hops of joy brought a glow she could not explain, a glow of gold, a smile of joy. And she hopped, her face covered by a mask.

100 Word Stories

Twist

 

Time Remains

He twisted the cord of the phone. The sweet smell of success in a single sentence. Nothing felt better than to hear someone say "I hate you". He grinned. Hate is such a gracious way of living. He hated everyone and he was happy. No one bothered him. He bothered no one. And he was happy. The day he fell in the living-room, a sharp pain on his chest, he wasn't alone. The dark tall figure by the door grinned and said "It's time."

All he could mutter was "I hate you" but this time he was definitely not happy.

100 Word Stories

Camp NaNoWriMo Done

 

This year's April Camp was bittersweet, I must admit.

I was too ambitious. Four short stories in four weeks, considering what is going on in Real Life, was indeed very ambitious.

However, I did manage to set the basis for one (yes... only one) story. And I did reach the 20k mark I had established as a goal.

That 20k number is a mix of the amount of words written and, when no words were written but research was done, the amount of time spent, per NaNoWriMo's suggestion - every 30 mins = 500 words.

So, it's done. More in July! Well, more tomorrow. I'll continue to work on this story and get it finished before July arrives with another Camp!

Chewy

 

Milk Wood

"I like it chewy."

The man sitting by her side opened his eyes and sneered. "You have no teeth. How can you like it chewy?"

"I have teeth!"

"Yeah, OK, you have teeth."

"Look." The woman opened her mouth.

"What in the name of God is that?!"

She grinned as a set of four metal teeth slid down from inside the gum. "New thing."

"That looks frightening."

"But it's very handy." She grabbed the metal jar where a bunch of wooden spoons rested, and ripped a chunk out of it.

"Yes, handy, I bet. No more problems with cans, huh?"

100 Word Stories

Free

 

The Tower by Rebeca Bashly

Bow and bow again. No end to the bowing. No end to not looking straight in his eyes. No soul. No tears. Just bow. Bow and scream inside, because you're alive. You're alive and he thinks you're dead. He thinks you have lost your way. He thinks you are nobody. You belong to him. You're dead. So, bow. Stretch your arms defiantly and bow, again and again until he understands. It's no longer submission. It's preparation. It's knowing. It's getting ready to jump and run. And when he finally figures it all out, yes... by then, you'll be long gone.

100 Word Stories

Mice Cream

 

Collins Land

"Mice? No, no. Forget about that."

The man stood at the entrance. He hesitated. The smell was obnoxious but the hunger... oh, the hunger.

"With carrots. A carrot creamy soup. Much better than with mice."

Someone murmured in agreement.

He ventured inside. Two men were skinning mice. It was disgusting.

"Add some spices. Oh, yes? Are you hungry, my friend?"

He didn't know anymore.

"Have some soup." The man smiled.

His stomach growled, so he did. It was not that bad.

In the bowl, he found a large chunk of bone.

"Mice?"

The men looked at each other and sneered.

100 Word Stories

No Preventive Maintenance

 

Time Remains

"The landing was scheduled for eleven. What's going on?"

The voice on the phone stumbled.

"I don't care. Where are they?"

Some problem...

"Are they coming or not?"

Silence.

"If they aren't coming, I need to dispose of these samples. You know how human samples deteriorate quickly and the fridge you left here is crap."

A chuckle.

"Oh, funny, is it? You won't find it so amusing when it's your turn to do a tour here on Earth and have your crappy fridge stuffed with beers just because you don't want them to think you're an alien, which you are!"

100 Word Stories

Too Much to Bear

 

Tatty Soup

It was just too much. Pack your bags, quickly. And this urgency... This overwhelming fear... How can we choose which parts of our lives are salvageable? Photos, documents, diaries, books? Books? Which ones, because they are so heavy... Just one. Choose one, quickly. And we don't know which one to choose. I chose "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly". It's small and oh, so big. And we took some seeds. Seeds are light. We need seeds to start over. The bags were placed at the door, side by side with the million steps that would take us away, for now.

100 Word Stories

Camp NaNoWriMo April 2022

 

Four Times One is the name of this year's Camp NaNoWriMo project. The idea is to write a short story each week. 20k words, about 5k per story. If Real Life decides to mess with this plan, I'll extend it to July's Camp. One week prep'ing, one week writing. Do I know what I'll write about? No. And I'm not sure this is a good plan! But... NaNoWriMo's idea is to get you out of your comfort zone, right? So, there! No preparation at all. Here we go!

Slippery Slope

 

Wonderland 2.0

I thought it was risky, but they said "this way". And we all went "this way". The problem with blindly following what others say is that we often end up in rather complicated situations. In my defense, there was a sign that clearly said "This Way". And usually, signs are supposed to be reliable. This time, this particular sign wasn't. And off we went, blissfully unaware. When we reached the end of the tunnel, they pushed us into the pit. And we had to decide whether to take the blue pill or the red... Wait a second... Alice?! Rewind. Rewind!

100 Word Stories

Hair

Time Remains

 

"What have you done?"

My sister shrugged.

"But your hair..."

She smiled and shrugged again.

"Is something wrong?"

She shook her head and mumbled something about a sign.

"What sign?"

She was moving on, away from vanity.

Being a shampoo model had been very profitable for her.

"What about your job?"

She looked at me.

"No, no no."

My hair is now long enough for me to take her old job. I'll get my own place and I'll be filthy rich. Life is a lot simpler than we think. It just takes a bit longer when we're talking about hair.

100 Word Stories

The Books

Mistll

The books on the shelf stared at him sternly.

Feeble. Uncompromising. Late.

The titles suggested a series of events that could easily be totally uninteresting or a complete disaster. Being such a positive person, he thought they were a sign that something dreadful was about to happen.

When a car exploded outside (certainly because of some lunatic defending lunatic ideas), he grabbed the three books and ran, hoping to save himself. He was about to burn them when they arrested him. "Subversive, subversive" they shouted.

While they dragged him away, he pondered about the different meanings of the word "late".

100 Word Stories