“It’s a nice room.” The voice is familiar, but I can’t place it. Am I sleeping? Dreaming? I hear a series of melodic beeps filling the air. They have their own distinctive pitch and period. But that can’t be right, I’m no longer…, “Wayne, he’s waking up,” a soft voice filters into my awareness. As… Continue reading In a Hospital Far Away
Category: existentialism
Time to Go
The need to relieve myself finally pulls me from my dreams. I unwrap myself from the covers and make my way to the bathroom in the dark. The son is the father of the man. A line from a Wordsworth poem–I make a mental note to look it up tomorrow, knowing I will forget both… Continue reading Time to Go
Finding Harry
An addict returns home. My most recent overdose triggered mom’s stroke and death. I’ve been gone almost nine years, but now I’m back at the farm with Dad. I will stay here a bit, try to find my legs, figure out what’s next for me. I’ve struggled with the black dogs of depression my… Continue reading Finding Harry
Leaving the Cul-de-Sac
Escaping my sanctuary I glance out the window by my reading chair and my eye floats to the end of the street where the long flatbed truck lays on its side and to the ruined minivan that sits flush against it, gently touching bumpers and the sun sparkling on the dewy grass and… Continue reading Leaving the Cul-de-Sac
Becoming Proust
Reflections on living three fifths a century But old age, to begin with, has something in common with death. Some face it with indifference, not because they have more courage than others, but because they have less imagination.“ Marcel Proust, Time Regained – I am slowly turning into Marcel Proust. Okay, that may… Continue reading Becoming Proust
Kenny and the Upside
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 93 “What the fuck did you say to me? An upside? If you value our friendship at all, you better explain yourself, and I mean now.” I might’ve chosen a better moment, I suppose. As Kenny’s youngest sister, Tina, is not ready to hear this. She grows… Continue reading Kenny and the Upside
Papanca: A Story of Ten Dollars and Ten Minutes
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 89 The man squatting at the intersection is wearing a faded Nike t-shirt and holding a cardboard sign that reads “Need Help.” I’m a pushover for such folks. I think because I recognize how that could easily be me. (I’m currently on track for that to be… Continue reading Papanca: A Story of Ten Dollars and Ten Minutes
After the Rain
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 83 “Lying in the dark, it’s understood We are both lost And we won’t be found.” The Last Unicorn – Passenger When it was done, after he had gone through the normal stages of adapting to the new norm (single again), he felt surprised to learn that what he… Continue reading After the Rain
Nicky
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 82 I try calling her cellphone again. Damn. My useless phone displays one of three messages with every attempt. This time it’s ‘NETWORK BUSY.’ I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s the day most of us are leaving earth. The authorities never fully explained how this was even remotely possible. I’ve… Continue reading Nicky
Challenge, A Rationalization
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 80 The man ignores all the signs from his body. Something is wrong, he suspects, but he refuses to take any proactive measures on his behalf. He feels things shifting inside him, moving, growing, becoming, and hurting. He knows he needs to see a doctor, but the idea leaves… Continue reading Challenge, A Rationalization
Hang Loose
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 77 I jerk upright in my bed, instantly awake. “Just a dream,” I say to myself stupidly. Whoa. I take several minutes to collect myself. It did not seem like a dream; it had felt real. The way the client had grasped at my hand as I pulled their… Continue reading Hang Loose
The End of Books
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 76 The writing prompt I chose for today’s flash fiction story was from Grammarly. It said, “Write about what you think the world will look like in 10 years.” Dare I? Since 2016, I feel I’ve lost all hope in most of my fellow countrymen, in friends, in people… Continue reading The End of Books
Heating Pad
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 75 And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me – filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before; The Raven – Edgar Allan Poe It was the heating pad controller that inspired so many nightmares and haunted thoughts during my three-week self-quarantine. The heating pad… Continue reading Heating Pad
The Man on the Stair
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 72 “Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn’t there! He wasn’t there again today, Oh how I wish he’d go away!” Antigonish – William Hughes Mearns. It had been a long, tough day at work. I love being a massage therapist, but some days it can… Continue reading The Man on the Stair
Salmon Nigiri
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 71 The salmon nigiri rotates past the couple for the third time since they sat down several minutes ago. Years ago, one patron, an older man, had slyly flicked a sharpie marker against the conveyor belt to time how long it took for the sushi items to pass through… Continue reading Salmon Nigiri
Rewind
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 70 The man forgets how many times he’s replayed his life. He decides the number is fourteen or four thousand. The offer to trade his soul for a chance to relive his life had been impossible to refuse. The little girl told him he could relive his life since… Continue reading Rewind
Allowance
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 52 It’s easy to slip into a poverty mindset when you grow up poor. Not only is there never enough, but you also absolutely believe there will never be enough. Permanent, debilitating financial ruin is just one mishap away. One unplanned emergency is all it will take to make… Continue reading Allowance
In the End
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 51 Take Two In the end, she tells herself for the millionth time; it was only an accident. He hadn’t meant to injure her in this most irreversible manner. This had been the unfortunate outcome of an unintentional flirtation. He hadn’t meant to die, but only to taste the… Continue reading In the End
Stories by Shawn 