Pop

 

Gehena Vampire Clan

The cork popped.

"It's worth the wait," he said.

She smiled. Yes, two centuries.

"It'll taste sour at first."

She smiled. She didn't like sour.

"But the aftertaste will be sweet."

She nodded. She didn't like sweet either.

In fact, she didn't like anything except the taste of hatred.

Two centuries. And here he was, oblivious that he had betrayed her many moons ago.

She had used her powers to look different, more seductive.

That green bottle was somewhat beneath her, but it would have to do.

Perhaps then she would be able to taste something again. "Pop! And cheers!"

100 Word Stories

Camp NaNoWriMo July

Done. No Words is concluded and I will now proceed to the next phase, revising and editing.

This was a well needed step in a long healing process. No one will ever read it, except for one person (B.).

Onwards we go.

Choke

The words “Drink me” were on the label. No one had ever ordered him to drink anything, except his mother when he was a child. She used to say, drink this but don't choke. Why would he choke?

He examined the liquid. Pink. Well, odd shades of green and blue usually demanded caution. But pink?

He shook the bottle. Might as well mix this properly.

He took a sip.

When he started choking, he thought of his mother and the way she would stare at him, waiting.

He knew that look would haunt him to the end of his days.

100 Word Stories

Robot

China

The robot mixed the colors.

The robot tilted its head left and right, as he'd seen humans do. Somehow, that felt important.

And the landscape appeared on the canvas. Blacks and blues and whites and a house. The water was so dark the painting turned into night.

The robot paused. Why did the night sneak in? He wanted a bright day of blues and whites and... The black. It was the black.

The night looked nice too. But... A splash of white here and there and...

The robot tilted its head left and right. If he could, he would smile.

100 Word Stories

Camp NaNoWriMo July 2022

 

Cover photo by Engin Akyurt

Camp NaNoWriMo is upon us again. It's such a cliché, but time does fly.

This July, I'll write a personal account of the path I have been treading for the past few years. It has not been easy and it's now time to exorcize those demons, trap them and keep them locked up. Writing is a wonderful way to understand things happening around me and, finally, accepting that I am doing my best.

Let the writing begin!

Bleak

 

Milk Wood

"My computer isn't working properly. The USB socket is all messed up. And there's a koala wallpaper that is driving me crazy. I need this fixed asap. That's what I'm paying you guys for."

"Certainly. What's your address? I'll send assistance over immediately."

"Assistance? I can't answer the door. I'm in the pool. The doctor told me to meditate for half an hour in the pool every day."

"Perhaps after the meditation?"

"No, I have a major function later on."

"Tomorrow? After tomorrow? Any day in the future?"

"Are you being snarky with me, young man?!"

The future is bleak.

100 Word Stories

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