Category: family

Searchlight Needles

Joanna’s eyes slipped shut, and her chin dipped for just a second. She snapped her eyes open and jerked the steering wheel, causing the rental car to swerve dangerously on the wet mountain highway. “Not today, Mister,” she shouted. That had been one of Jill’s expressions, but who the man was Jill could never say.… Continue reading Searchlight Needles

The Past Office

For fifteen years the letter sat beneath the antiquated mail sorter. A clumsy man named Clyde, who would retire three months later (and be buried fourteen days after that), had dropped it and it slid several feet beneath the bulky contraption with the silly name. He thought briefly about retrieving it, but his sciatica was… Continue reading The Past Office

Stella’s New Family

Sometimes, your family finds you. The tide is turning. I never remember if it is in or out. But the ocean noises change when the tide turns. I can’t remember who taught me that. Maybe my grandmother? I was named after my other grandmother, Stella. She had had six boys and never knew how to… Continue reading Stella’s New Family

Papa

June 2022 Flash Challenge, Day 3 Uncle Kenny never rises before noon on the camping trips. So far now, it’s just me, Cheryl, Adam, and dad, finishing our breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. The cool air and the smokey smell usually make me feel giddy in the mornings. That isn’t the case this morning.… Continue reading Papa

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

Where Are They?

Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 96     “Where are mom and dad?” my little sister asks again. It breaks my heart that I don’t have a good answer to the question. The truth is simple; I don’t know where our parents are. And that is not right. None of this is right –… Continue reading Where Are They?

The Boy in the Ward

Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 84     It’s the thick steel needle the boy finds most amazing about the whole thing. It runs right through his leg, holding it immobilized while the bone mends itself. His fingers continually find the needle and probe it gently despite several nurses telling him he shouldn’t. He… Continue reading The Boy in the Ward

Bad Doggy

Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 67 “Daisy. You crazy bitch. Don’t eat that!” Zach shouts to the cocker spaniel. “Mom, Zach called Daisy a bitch again! Mooooom!” Zoe whines plaintively towards the camper. The camper is sitting in an undeveloped federal site reserved for such recreation. Truly, there is no real campsite here. No… Continue reading Bad Doggy

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

Finding Time

He remembers. Riding in the back seat of their 1967 Chevrolet Bel Air. The windows slightly cracked, the cold fall and winter wind chilling him to his bones. Shivering, huddled in whatever sweater or jacket he was wearing. Isn’t that the way he thinks? Whenever a hot-blooded person meets a cold-blooded person; one of them… Continue reading Finding Time