Always?

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The chainsaw hanging behind the door didn't go too well with the sweet little quote on the wall. "After all this time. Always." After all this time? Always? That could mean something completely different. He had to go. What are you doing, she asked. Nothing, nothing, just looking for my shoes. Leaving? Well, I... He tapped his watch. Where was the damn door, he thought. She turned around to grab something and to his horror... Is this what you're looking for? He always thought the sound of church bells would be the last thing he would hear. Nope, it wasn't.

100 Word Stories

Wasp

 

Waterland

The shovel was crap. The ground was too hard. The body was, let's say, unbendable. And no one volunteered to help. Then, there was the wasp. He tried to kill it, but he kept hitting the body, adding cuts to it. It really annoyed him that the coroner would think this guy had been tortured with a shovel. He had a reputation to protect. So, he paid some low level dude who drove by to dig the hole and dumped the two in it. Not his neatest work but even a hitman has a bad day every now and then.

100 Word Stories

Icing On the Cake

 

Goastwood

I bought a ticket. It didn't matter where to. I got on the train and closed my eyes. Things would get better. There was a commotion on the platform. Voices shouting, people rushing. When they called out my name, I sank in my seat. But why would I hide? I was a grown woman. I could go anywhere I wanted. Are you this person? Yes. Come with us. Why? And then I knew. She had called the cops on me. My daughter is missing... Oh, I'm so worried. Yes, she wanted me back. The icing on her sadistic little cake.

100 Word Stories

Package

 

Misali

What do you do? I fight demons.

Whose? Mine and hers.

Why? Because her demons feed off of mine. Her demons eat me alive and become stronger.

Silence.

When did this start? Since the beginning, but I only noticed it a few years ago. I didn't know I had demons. I didn't know she had demons. I certainly didn't know I would have to fight.

Silence.

Is that from a film? No.

Because I sent you a package with a bunch of films. It's not from a film.

Have you been sleeping? No.

Silence.

Are you winning the fight? No.

100 Word Stories

Unsafe

 

Misali

It was dark. The swamp was weird. It bubbled, for some mysterious reason. And she had to step into it to prove herself, they said, to be part of the gang. The whole thing was pathetic, of course. But you'll only be cool at school if the cool kids accept you. So, the swamp it was. Good thing she had a flashlight. She pointed at the others just to make sure they were still there. And it took exactly 0.4 seconds for the thing to snack on them. They were gone. Well, guess I'm the coolest kid now, she thought.

100 Word Stories

Cat's Pajamas

 

Misali

"The Cat's Pajamas" was the name of the play. It involved a man pretending to play the piano on a rock plateau surrounded by water while the audience tried to reach him. They had to climb over rocks, slide on their butts, dodge rolling boulders, till they reached the water level. Most were taken to hospital with broken limbs. Several ended up in the morgue. And one managed to overcome all the hurdles. He got a certificate with a neat little stamp and a ribbon. Was there any music, the media asked. Ahm, nope, none whatsoever. Just wackos, many wackos.

100 Word Stories

Now and Then

 

Misali

It happened now and then. The music started. The dancing ensued. The portable record player sang in tune. She sat there, at the party, looking at strangers, acquaintances and lovers. What were the odds... All four of them, chatting, oblivious to the invisible link that connected them, enjoying their beers and cracking jokes. A fun night out. Each one of them added something to her empty life. So, she collected them. And she hid. "Had too much to drink, be right back." The trail of tears sounded pretty much like the record player, playing those tunes, one tear after another.

100 Word Stories

Pebbles, Shiny and Footlights

Mirai Melody

 

Pebbles, Shiny, and Footlights decided to order a birthday cake from the local store. They had tried to bake one. However, that didn't work out well. Let's just say that a burned down kitchen was a small portion of the problem. So, they ordered the cake, their angelic little faces looking up at the store owner. And they waited. And they waited some more. They became restless. Where's the kitchen, they asked. Long story short, Pebbles, Shiny and Footlights ended up in jail for burning down the whole block. Talk about an upgrade, minus the birthday cake, they said, chuckling.

100 Word Stories

Red Wine

Mirai Melody

 

He looked at the menu.

"Any red wine?"

The waiter shrugged.

"Any pizza?"

The waiter opened his eyes wide.

"Pizza?!" The waiter shook his head. "Here, Japanese food. If you want pizza, go to Italy."

"How rude. I'll just use my phone translator."

He fired up the app and pointed the phone at the menu.

"Lots of dishes. Oh, wait a sec. Waiter!"

The waiter got back.

"Four bodies for 130 yen?!"

The waiter sighed.

"Yes, the other three are in the freezer. We're just waiting for a fourth one."

That's when he decided to tiptoe out of there asap.

100 Word Stories

Camp NaNoWriMo

 

(Tentative Cover and Title)

Goal: Brainstorm and research characters and setting for NaNoWriMo (in November).
Word count: 40k = 40 hours of work.

I've reached my goal today. I have my cast and my setting.

Screen

Mirai Melody

 

She had just left everything behind. Her home, her family, her friends, her job, her money. She needed money. Desperately. As she walked through the cobbled streets of the old town, people stared at her, a sense of strangeness brewing their uncertainty. A multitude of colorful flower pots decorated their open windows and their doorsteps. And here she was, black clothes, black eye-shadow, black nail polish. She carried a bag full of books and nothing but doubts on her mind. She smiled. Perhaps this place could become a home. Someone smiled back. Yes, this place could definitely become a home.

100 Word Stories

Sponsor

 

Mirai Melody

The old millionaire had been poisoned 3 times. Two when eating puffer fish (was the chef in on it?), and another when his wife tried to get his money. Yes, he was still married to her. There was no point in wasting a perfectly good wife. She loved shrimp. So, she should have plenty of it. When the police called, he asked "did she eat the shrimp?". That was a strange question, they said. He replied "why? is she still alive?". They didn't arrest him because the cops always ate for free in his restaurants and besides, he was Yakuza.

100 Word Stories

Crystal Clear

 

Goatswood

Crystal was a cow. She was content with her simple bucolic life. When aliens appeared near the creek, she decided to investigate. "Cheers," she mooed. The aliens got startled and, in a panic, hid behind a rock. "What's up?" But they just stared at her. "Moo?" Nothing. "Ok, well, nice to meet you guys." And she trotted away. Later, when the aliens snuck up on her with a syringe, she went "Oh, no, you won't! It's bad enough you're poking around." That seemed like a pretty clear statement. But the aliens were confused. Poke? Around? Semantics, semantics are a bitch!

100 Word Stories

Spread

 

Goastwood

Spread the news, folks, only one train a week from Monday onwards. Yes, I know. It's a pain, but it's out of my hands. Top branch has decided and I follow their orders, that's all. No, Mr. Peters, I get no extra time off. I still have to be here at the station. Of course, Mrs. Lemon, but don't be so bitter. Sorry, I couldn't help it! And I see you, young Thomas, I see you. No more fun trips to the city ladies no more. Oh, that was a secret, was it? My sincere apologies. Well, now everyone knows.

100 Word Stories

Plain

Goatswood

 

"Plain and simple. No more bickering, you hear?"

The kids nodded.

"We're going to enjoy the trip to the sea."

The kids nodded.

"And get rid of that right now."

The kids chuckled.

"Don't you chuckle, now."

The kids nodded and took the chewing-gums from their mouths.

"This is not going to be easy..."

The train arrived and the nanny got distracted for just a split second.

A few minutes later, while looking for the tickets, she found... the gums, in her pocket.

The kids laughed and laughed, and thought that this would be a great trip to the sea.

100 Word Stories

Shark

 

Goastwood

He thought he was the big shark in the business, but his tobacco brand was not selling. We kept playing the part. We kept nodding like nodding dogs at the mercy of a car's twists and turns. It made him happy and we wanted him happy. Or did we? When he died, the company was dismantled. Finally, no more debt. What we didn't know was that he had a stash of millions hidden in a vault at home. The will kept us all from getting those millions. The sneaky bastard... Even after dying, the shark managed to kick our butts.

100 Word Stories

Blood is Thicker Than Water

 

Goatswood

"There's an issue... The whole village drank water from the creek. No one said blood was thicker than water anymore. Brothers attacked brothers, fathers ambushed mothers, grandparents turned on neighbors."

"Neighbors?"

" Yes. That was the only exception."

"Ahm..."

"I know. We went a bit overboard."

"Do you realize that now we won't get the grant? We will never be able to convince them that proverbs are our way in."

"Yes, well, but that was a bit of a silly idea in the first place. Humans are insane. Let's try that other planet with the little green men."

"Why? Oh, why?!"

100 Word Stories

Voices!

 

Whispering Wind

The guy stole my headset, and then the gun magically appeared in my hand and I just had to shoot. I knew the detective wasn't buying my loony bin strategy... My lawyer told me to shut up, but I just had to talk. And I went on and on about voices, lots of voices "can't you hear them?!". My lawyer said "shut up" again, but I just had to keep talking. In court, my lawyer turned to me and said "Voices?! Did you hear my voice??" And then I was given life. Perhaps I should write a book about voices!

100Word Stories

All Our Tomorrows

 

Tatty Soup

We gathered by the fire. Questions and more questions. One wanted this, the other that. And we all shared our fears and our hopes. There was laughing, crying, and yelling too. Not many believed we would make it out there. We all shook our head. We all chuckled. We knew. They didn't. We would make it! When the nurse came with the pills for the evening, we all agreed not to take them. The nurse said, take the pills, come on. And... I stood there alone. The others ran and hid in the darkest corners of my mind. The cowards.

100 Word Stories

Still

 

Roche

The train station was still there. The door was locked. I peered through the window but couldn't see anything. The bike was rotting away at the usual place. The windsock was still flapping on the rusty pole. Back then I didn't understand why the station master wanted that windsock up there. Trains don't run on wind. The old station master would smile and say that the birds needed to know. But I never saw any birds. The station master would smile again and say, you don't? Look. And point to the sky. He saw birds, and that made me smile.

100 Word Stories