The limits of thinking I wave my hands in front of the Daniel-thing’s face again. Nothing. Its eyes are open, but it’s not seeing me, not seeing anything. I thought he’d had a seizure; when I checked for a pulse or breathing I found neither. And then there was the stuff with my… Continue reading Descartes Conundrum
Category: fiction
Henry and the Snoots
An older man helping lost souls in his town The older man in the green Volvo smiles at the woman turning left in the Subaru. It was his smile, he thinks, not for the first time, that finally led to his success in his liberation ministry. He had been unaware that as a… Continue reading Henry and the Snoots
The Twenty
For my sister on her 51st birthday The afternoon sun was high and hot overhead. The two of them, the mother and her favorite child, the sweetest by a country mile, her daughter, walked along the road. They intended to spend a few simple minutes engaged in retail therapy, shopping at the dime store that… Continue reading The Twenty
A Note to COVID Long-Haulers
Hungry ghosts, branching universes, and day-drinking Psst! Do you want to know a secret? I know why you feel so bad. Physically and mentally. You think you have lingering effects from your bout of COVID-19, and you likely do, but perhaps there’s something else at play here. When you remember it, you recall two phases.… Continue reading A Note to COVID Long-Haulers
Desert Highway
In the end, the most surprising thing about the video was how no two people ever remembered it the same; it was a modern-day Rorschach test. It was only three minutes twelve seconds long, but people saw different things when they recounted what they had watched. One thing almost everyone agreed upon was the video… Continue reading Desert Highway
No-Hitter
A Terryn and Shawn Story 2:10 PM I’m trying to put it out of my mind. At first, I didn’t believe the front desk was calling my clients. So on number three, I made Tobias make the call on speakerphone. Sure enough, it rolled to voicemail just like the other two. Weird. A… Continue reading No-Hitter
Inflatable Santa
Horror Flash Fiction The neighborhood was quieter now. Folks felt guilty when they accidentally found themselves enjoying the calm. Eleven in three weeks. That’s how many children had disappeared. The inflatable Santa, magically moving from yard to yard, each morning in a different place. A prank. One that Larry or possibly Eileen had started years… Continue reading Inflatable Santa
Influence
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 30 “The left, no. The right,” I say to the street performer. I’m sure the white pawn is in his right hand. He got lucky the other times, but I think I’ve figured out what he’s doing. “Are you quite sure?” he says to me. He asks this every… Continue reading Influence
Death in the Outback
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 29 But there is a marvellous thing related of this Desert, which is that when travellers are on the move by night, and one of them chances to lag behind or to fall asleep or the like, when he tries to gain his company again he will hear spirits… Continue reading Death in the Outback
The Magic Chip
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 26 In the video, the magician takes a chip from a bag; he places it on the counter and rolls up his sleeves. Then, he makes a big production of showing his hands are empty. Slowly and without any tell-tale hints that he’s making “moves,” he raises the chip… Continue reading The Magic Chip
Christina
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 25 She’s doing it again; she shouldn’t be able to hold the tiny blunt, let alone take a hit, but she can and does. “Whoa,” that’s some good stuff,” Christina says as she exhales a cloud of acrid smoke. The four of us, James, Seth, me, and her, are… Continue reading Christina
Brian Finds a Journal
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 24 June 1, 2021 It was a Tuesday, and I was running late. The subway broke, so it wasn’t really my fault, except that it was, and it had happened before. My manager and I agreed (more she than I) that I would allow for such happenings by showing… Continue reading Brian Finds a Journal
Buster’s Business
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 23 At first, I had thought gravity stopped working. Slowly the details of what had happened come into focus. I was driving, and then my truck became airborne; I remember screams, pumping the brakes, then landing with a crash, and then? I must have blacked out. When I came to, I… Continue reading Buster’s Business
Same Old Dance
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 22 The thing is, I could tell what she was thinking the whole time, from her first spontaneous hug, to how she responded to my touch when we traded massages, how I responded to hers. I swore I wanted to; no needed to touch her every week. What would… Continue reading Same Old Dance
Mr. Bojangles
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 21 “We got another two reports, like yesterday, Sheriff,” Suzy says. “Give me a second here, Suz. I’m not even in the door yet,” I say, shaking the snow off my coat. There go my dreams for a slow, uneventful day. This town is nothing once the college kids… Continue reading Mr. Bojangles
Monolith 5 – Wendy’s Well Part 2
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 20 Other monolith stories I’ve written: Monolith Monolith 2 Monolith 3 – Tammy’s Choice Monolith 4 – Many Miles Away Monolith 5 – Wendy’s Well Part 1 (the prequel to this story) “Yes, sir, the stairs just sort of went away. I can’t explain it any better, Sheriff. I’m… Continue reading Monolith 5 – Wendy’s Well Part 2
A Tea Party in Hell
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 19 This is the third story in a series. Charlie Bennett SIRIRI The prince of the third level of hell preferred to hold his tea parties in a different place. That was why today, he was on the second level. The screaming and agonizing and endless complaints from the tortured made… Continue reading A Tea Party in Hell
Cuando el Sol y Luna Eran Amantes
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 18 Even after all this time The sun never says to the earth “You owe me” Look what happens with a love like that It lights the whole sky Hafiz The Karankawa people had a legend, one of the greatest love stories ever told; they called it “Cuando el… Continue reading Cuando el Sol y Luna Eran Amantes
Amina’s Birth-Tattoo
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 17 February 28, 2195 Ultimately everyone on station Magellan had to pull a tour of duty on earth. During the lottery, Amina drew an eighteen-month assignment to NorCon Station 7. Situated in Antarctica, Station 7 sat at one of the harshest climates on earth. When she got her job… Continue reading Amina’s Birth-Tattoo
Amina
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 17 February 28, 2195 Ultimately everyone on Magellan had to pull a tour of duty somewhere on earth. The administrators liked to pretend that it wasn’t mandatory, but it was. During the annual lottery, Amina drew an eighteen lunar cycle stint at NorCon Station 7. Situated in Antarctica, Station… Continue reading Amina
