100-Word Stories

Always Charge Your Time Machine Before Use, by Bill Cox

16/4/2021

“Imagine it, we’re the first people to see these cave paintings in thirty thousand years!”

“It’s the discovery of a lifetime!”

“The paintings are amazing…buffalo, deer, bears…er, does that look like English writing to you?”

“Impossible! These paintings are prehistoric! The caves have been sealed off for millennia.”

“But it says…Kilroy was here!”

The archaeologists stared in bafflement at the writing. Twenty feet to their left, still in darkness, lay the remains of Joe Harris, amateur inventor, ignorer of low-battery warning lights and planet Earth’s first time-traveler.

5 Comments

Long Distance Call, by Amy Carlisle

16/4/2021

1 Comment

Last Thursday, I had to throw together a brochure for the local historical society. Browsing the Library of Congress website, I found a nifty high-resolution scan from a glass-plate negative from the 1890s; it featured a building that’s still standing on our town square. I downloaded the file, loaded it into Photoshop, and took a good look.

The storefront had a sign stating “Apple Computational Equipment” in flowing script.

Through the plate-glass window, you could barely make out a bald man in Victorian dress - talking on an iPhone 12.

I wonder what his reception was like?

1 Comment

Machinations, by Bill Sells

16/4/2021

3 Comments

What the matter? Machine rip you off?

Sorta. I put the right amount in and pressed F-4 for the candy bar and got a vegetable snack cracker instead. Then I put the right amount in this machine for a Mountain Do Me and got a caffeine-free lime spritzer. I mean, what the hell? Is it a plot? Hold on....

I think someone's trying to tell you something, bud. Where you going?

There's a machine in the bathroom for condoms. The way things are going it might dispense chap stick, and my lips are little dry.

3 Comments

This Morning I Lost My Favorite Sock and I Knew The World Was Ending, by Andrei Șișman

16/4/2021

1 Comment

I wake up to the sound of volcanoes and people screaming.

Outside, Kīlauea glows. The Goddess of Volcanoes is sitting at my breakfast table, drinking coffee as she makes the world burn.

I say: “I hate my life. Take it.” I rip at my shirt collar, thrust my naked breasts forward.

Pele blinks. She is so, so beautiful.

Anxiety mounts and I wonder: did I come on too strongly, too like a beggar? A murderer’s least satisfying victim is the one that wants to die, after all.

Pele sits up and kisses me. Her tongue, velvet lava, melts everything away.

1 Comment

Melanie’s Outrage, by Peggy Gerber

16/4/2021

9 Comments

Melanie didn’t mind the long drive to BosCo. Their prices on diapers and baby formula were unbeatable.

As she strolled into the store she gasped. It was as crowded as a NYC subway during rush hour. There was absolutely no social distancing even though the infection rate in her state, especially amongst young people, was still sky high.

When she arrived home she emailed customer service expressing her outrage. A week later she received this response, “ Dear Valued Customer: Here at BosCo we care about your health. Thanks for writing.”

Melanie slammed her computer shut and began to cough.

9 Comments

Lucy, by Daniel Lind

16/4/2021

4 Comments

Two bags wait by the door, heavy with expectations for your adventure.

Your voice is a tin can in foreign lands; your breath weighs as heavy as my aching heart. My young lady, conquering the world, decayed to a shadow, cast on a green wall.

“Don’t worry, Dad, the doctors are good,” feels empty, but I’m chained to my encouraging smile.

My heart cheers upon your return, but I can’t make sense of your words. The swagger in your steps is someone else’s; your sound leaves a bitter aftertaste. Dinner’s left cold. Bed untouched.

Where do you roam at night?

4 Comments

The Same Box, by Don Tassone

16/4/2021

18 Comments

He grew up poor and lived his life in obscurity.

He dreamed of being a king. In his dreams, he used his power to protect the weak and his wealth to feed the hungry. In his dreams, he cared for multitudes.

But in his real life, he cared for just a few. He made their hard lives a little easier. It was all he could do.

“There is an Italian proverb,” said the preacher at his funeral. “After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box.”

18 Comments

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates, by Sandra James

16/4/2021

5 Comments

His ex-wife is perfect, according to mother-in-law.

Through gritted teeth I smile and don’t tell her what I know… the affairs, the drugs.

‘She still visits and always brings chocolates,’ says MIL, smugly.

I bring a box next time but they aren’t as big or tasty.

The coroner ruled ‘poisoning’. Hidden in chocolates.

Open and shut case. She’d told everyone at Bingo about her wonderful ex-DIL.

I know you’re nodding, thinking it was me. My little chocolate box almost trapped me but the amended will in ex-DIL’s favour sealed it.

Did I tell you we look very much alike?

5 Comments

Job Perks, by Daniel Hybner

16/4/2021

4 Comments

“I can get in there.”

“You can?”

“Please. That’s not even a challenge.”

“But won’t you get in trouble?”

“I literally have a key. How could I possibly get in trouble?”

“It just doesn’t seem right. It seems dishonest, doesn’t it?”

“Do you want it or not?”

“I mean, yeah, I do, but this isn’t how I imagined getting it.”

“Just say the word.”

He paused. They always pause.

“It would be nice, I guess.”

“Consider it done.”

Everyone knew they could come to me for the things they wanted but couldn’t get to. Being the janitor has its perks.

4 Comments

Carousel, by Sue Clayton

16/4/2021

10 Comments

“It’s vacant. We’re good to go,” the cry rings out.

They tussle to straddle the carousel’s best seats; excitement mounts as they anticipate the music.

The wind picks up apace; melodic notes sough as it propels the ride towards a gusting gyration.

The carousel owner folds the washing; smiles as she observes the fluttering exhilaration. They only ride when the wind blusters, spindly limbs barely able to cling on as they whirl around.

Their glee escalates, swelling the musical crescendo.

“Caw…cheep… squawk,” feathers tousled by the wind, the birds savour every rotation of the empty clothes hoist.

10 Comments

The Protector, by Jennifer Duncan

16/4/2021

8 Comments

Ranger was a rescue dog. Too energetic, noisy, and aggressive for his first owners, he had found his forever home with a lively family. Off-leash walks were Ranger's delight.

Sadly, one autumn the father became ill. The ambiguous diagnosis didn't look promising.

Friends and family encouraged, " He just needs to rest."

The mother knew better.

One fresh fall day, the family prepared for a walk. Ranger pranced, twirled excitedly.

"I think I'll stay home," the mother said quietly. She needed to find some strength.

Ranger paused, gazing at her.

Soon he was sitting close by her, the walk forgotten.

8 Comments

Nothing Remarkable, by Wayne Dean-Richards

16/4/2021

3 Comments

There was always a band on after the Bingo. That night it was a four-piece who wore fluorescent trousers. Played cover versions of the hits of the day. I was with my parents, who at the time seemed old to me. Though now I realise that they were still quite young. It was an ordinary Saturday night. Nothing remarkable happened. Nothing unusual even. Yet years later I find myself searching for anyone else who was there that night. As if there’s something significant that I missed. Something that needs to be noted. Something that should have been said but wasn’t.

3 Comments

Unwanted Phone Call #2376, by Gordon Lawrie

16/4/2021

13 Comments

The telephone rang.

"Hello?" I wasn't giving anything away.

"Hello," said a voice speaking in a foreign accent. "I'm calling about your recent car accident."

"Which one?" I asked. "The recent one, or the recent one?"

He hesitated, then clarified, "Your recent car accident."

"Ah!" I said. "You should have said so. Well, I was minding my own business when this pedestrian stepped in front of me unexpectedly. OK, so I might have had a few beers and been driving down the pavement, but – "

The phone went dead. It's simpler if they block me than if I block them.

13 Comments

The Letter, by Barney MacFarlane

16/4/2021

3 Comments

A letter inside my father’s slipper. Hidden. From my mother? You're kidding? If you moved an ornament one inch, she would accuse: “Who moved that?”

But I found the letter and read its contents. It claimed the recipient – presumably my father – was “handsome and sweet”. The writer was keen for them to meet again. “Sooooon!!!!”

So, if I found it, my all-seeing, all knowing spy mother must have too.
Unlike her customary dispositon, she didn’t climb into a rage. So far as I knew, she never confronted him.

Yet his dinner was not always hot when he came home subsequently.

3 Comments

The Wait, by Krystyna Fedosejevs

16/4/2021

9 Comments

Memory awakened his tongue with yesterday’s cranberry muffin. He fidgeted on a recliner, contemplating what his wife would bring next.

She left to hike solo, as she often did. On this autumn day, he could visualize ice rosettes forming, twirling, joining one another on the river, along the walking trail.

Why was she delayed? Their grownup children across town also knew not why.

A bulletin was issued: ‘Woman, early 70’s, last seen talking to a driver on her walk’.

Time ticked anxious minutes into months.

The man continued waiting, wondering if his cancer was the reason for her disappearance.

9 Comments

Looking for a Boyfriend, by Cindy Patrick

16/4/2021

7 Comments

She decided she wanted a hunter for a boyfriend. Last time it was a cop. Her ruse failed, but its memory lasted. Sitting in the A&W every morning when the police had their coffee break. She’d swoon. Came up with a plan to call in a drunk driver, giving her own license plate. As we headed out listening to our hidden police scanner, soon we saw flashing lights behind us. Then we heard, “oh, it’s just the girls from the A&W”. They were on to us. Now we are lost on forestry roads. We have no hunting permit. Foiled again.

7 Comments

The Rapt Audience, by Sivan Pillai

16/4/2021

7 Comments

It’s four in the evening. Someone rings the doorbell. Abhi, my little grandson, rushes to open the door.

“It’s grandpa Tom,” he calls out. I do the usual thing.

Tom smiles, happy that he’ll have a rapt audience.

He tells me about his native village, his childhood friends, and his teachers. He laughs heartily, recounting his exploits at different stages of his life. He enumerates the changes that have taken place in our town. He praises my daughter-in-law for her unique way of preparing tea. He leaves at six.

“May I fetch your hearing aid now?” Abhi asks me.

7 Comments

Role Reversal, by Swapan K Banerjee

16/4/2021

8 Comments

An animal-advocate was on his way to a forest-resthouse when the rain came down by the bucketful. It grew steadily darker.

A truck menacingly appeared round the narrow mountain-bend. While making way, he slipped; fell into the void.

Several feet down, his woollen outerwear got caught in an oak tree. A while later, he sensed another presence: a leopard, few branches apart.

Below, the yawning abyss; the road above, way out of reach.

The leopard edged closer; placed its back beneath his body-of-slight-build so he could get astride it. Then it leapt straight up with his hands around its neck.

8 Comments

Elizabeth, by Jim Woessner

16/4/2021

11 Comments

There are times when nothing makes sense, and no matter what you do it will never make sense. Elizabeth’s birth was one of those times. It was the end of June. We were anxiously waiting. And everything was prepared and in place, or so we thought. But when she arrived, softly, she was silent. She couldn’t say what she wanted or needed. We didn’t know, and we couldn’t provide it. We had assumed a lifetime, forgetting that lifetimes are sometimes measured in days. Elizabeth stopped for a short visit. And when she did, all understanding was lost. And everything changed.

11 Comments

The Interview, by Sbusiso Mnguni

16/4/2021

2 Comments

"I often hear the polemics' tirade about the afterlife and those mouthy scientists always claiming to be on the verge of some discovery, now I hear they are calculating the probability of death. Doesn't it all sound ridiculous to you, too remiss?"

"You mean like a micromort?"

"Yes, death is closer than your carbon exhale. And the afterlife... Well... that's one of those human inventions, like God. There's no afterlife. There's only death and alternating dream states."

2 Comments

The Heart to Heart Talk, by S.J. Doherty

16/4/2021

4 Comments

Ayo and I sat in a café in DC on a warm April afternoon. We’d just gotten engaged two weeks ago. You seem down, he said. I feel down, I said. I don’t know why, I said. Everything is good, I said. Your boss? he asked. She sucks, I said. He sipped his coffee. But that’s not it, I said. He said we should walk and take in the cherry blossoms. I twirled my straw in my ice water. When did it start? He asked. I knew. It was the day we got engaged. I really don’t know, I said.

4 Comments

The Voice in the Darkness, by Stephen Johnson

16/4/2021

2 Comments

“Go ahead, I dare you!” The voice calls out teasingly from behind me. I look back with a cold stare as I do my best to hide my fear. I approach the wooden door and hear an eerie creak as I gently push it open. Only a few steps in and I feel an ominous presence lurking in the darkness in front of me. Sound disappears and a loud crash pounds my ears, as the door slams shut behind me. I scream out in fear when from the darkness a hoarsely voice calls out, “We have been waiting for you.”

2 Comments

Nemesis, by David Milner

16/4/2021

2 Comments

Foie gras fed Dogger Mulvaney was a publisher par excellence, disruptor, billionaire, (very) near neighbour of lapsed royals, man of the people.

“Uplifting stories, the world needs now!” proclaimed Dogger.

371,000 ‘heart-warming’ novels published week one.

379,000 stories of ‘everyday derring-do’ shipped out the next.

Soon people got sick of being told how great they were. Fires raged in cities, books up in smoke.

Dogger’s shine was off. So many Mulvaney millions lost.

“Just one week, this year, in Estonia?” asked Nemesis, his moderately minded fourth wife.

Dogger, indisposed in his ruby bejewelled bathroom, struggled with a plumbeous bowel.

2 Comments

Taking The Ring, by Lynn Cullivan

16/4/2021

1 Comment

“At school they say not everybody has to have a ring.”

“Everybody gets a ring through their nose,” he said, not taking his eyes from the screen.

“Your uncle Eddie tried to go without a ring,” she said.

“Let’s not bring Eddie into it.”

“But he has a ring. A thick one.”

“Your uncle got into some weird stuff. Bad stuff.”

“But in the end he took his ring. That’s my point. And if Eddie - “

“That’s enough about Eddie, OK? Your uncle is not a good example, you understand? He took his ring, and so will you.”

1 Comment

Open the Door, by Brian Taylor

16/4/2021

1 Comment

"Honey, it's me. Open the door, please."

I say nothing. I can't.

She knocks harder. "Goddamm you! Open the fucking door!"

I can't believe she's here. After everything that's happened.

"Son of a bitch! Open this door right now!"

Should I let her in? Do I have to? What would happen? How long will she keep knocking?

"Okay, asshole! I didn't wanna do this: I'll get help to open this door! You'll be sorry!"

I suddenly vomit on the floor. I'm so hot.

*She's dead! We buried her today!*

But... I believe it now. Shakily, I walk to the door.

1 Comment

<<Previous

Always Charge Your Time Machine Before Use, by Bill Cox

Long Distance Call, by Amy Carlisle

Machinations, by Bill Sells

This Morning I Lost My Favorite Sock and I Knew The World Was Ending, by Andrei Șișman

Melanie’s Outrage, by Peggy Gerber

Lucy, by Daniel Lind

The Same Box, by Don Tassone

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates, by Sandra James

Job Perks, by Daniel Hybner

Carousel, by Sue Clayton

The Protector, by Jennifer Duncan

Nothing Remarkable, by Wayne Dean-Richards

Unwanted Phone Call #2376, by Gordon Lawrie

The Letter, by Barney MacFarlane

The Wait, by Krystyna Fedosejevs

Looking for a Boyfriend, by Cindy Patrick

The Rapt Audience, by Sivan Pillai

Role Reversal, by Swapan K Banerjee

Elizabeth, by Jim Woessner

The Interview, by Sbusiso Mnguni

The Heart to Heart Talk, by S.J. Doherty

The Voice in the Darkness, by Stephen Johnson

Nemesis, by David Milner

Taking The Ring, by Lynn Cullivan

Open the Door, by Brian Taylor

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100-Word
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