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by the road
She was standing along the highway the first time I saw her, hair blowing freely in the wind. I thought about stopping to pick her up, but it was just a thought.

I've seen her six times since, always somewhere different.

I can't stop thinking about her.(more)
50 words | fiction | woman on...
to be
What a mess.

Wish I'd known it was staged from the start. These idiots must've considered me a pawn, thought I'd turn and run when the bullets started flying. I was their plausible deniability...

But life doesn't follow anyone's script.

I'd better dump these idiots' corpses(more)
50 words | fiction | thriller
up the trail
The farmer waved as the hikers disappeared up the trail towards the highway. "Eighth lost group this summer," he said.

"Ever get tired of this?" his wife asked.
(more)
50 words | fiction | directio...
the gardener
"It was the gardener! J'accuse!"

"Uh huh," said the unimpressed homicide detective. "On what grounds, ma'am?"

"My husband was killed with a garden hoe last night, was he not?"

"Uh huh. But the gardener says you just hired him this morning. Off a street corner." (more)
50 words | fiction | murder
in the woods
We were lost in the woods.

"Some shortcut, Krayg!" Tixen's green eyes flashed.

"Relax," I said. "Krayg, find some kindling. Night's coming."

Soon we were huddling around the flames.

"Now," I said, "a spell to read the stars... Where did my wand go? Krayg, what(more)
50 words | fantasy | fiction
daring to
I crouch, bound in tension, not daring to move, not daring to breathe, not daring to blink, lest I be discovered. The consequences would be extremely unsavoury...

Someone enters the room, stops, inhales deeply. Can they smell me? They depart.

I peek. The coast is clear. (more)
50 words | fiction | pie thie...
through the smoke
I could barely see him through the smoke, a wispy silhouette, dancing and swaying to the rhythmless music of the crackling bonfire. His erratic movements transported me to some other place, a far-off, magical land. He was ethereal, mesmerizing, screaming...
(more)
50 words | fiction | fire
won't recommend
"I won't recommend seafood dishes anymore," the waiter explains. "It has landed me in hot water too many times before."

"Oh?" I say. "Do people really get upset with you when they don't like your suggestions?"

"I mean LITERAL hot water," he says sardonically, clicking his lobster(more)
fiction | 50 words | lobster ...
moratorium
"...So, between emigration and attrition, our population has been in steady decline, damaging our international image. That's why today we're announcing a moratorium on death."

The press clamoured. "Ma'am! Ma'am! How can you possibly enforce this new policy?"

The president waved her hand dismissively. "Ph(more)
50 words | fiction | death
bitter herbs
Mara's seasoning shop specialized in rare spices.

As a Jewish woman, barely scraping by amid the loneliness of big-city life, she found it pleasantly validating that her most profitable time of year was Passover, when hundreds of customers came to her for bitter herbs.

Occasionally she wondered:(more)
50 words | fiction | bitter
for you
He toddles up to me, hands cupped. "I made this, Daddy!"

I drop my briefcase. "What is it?"

His hands open and there goes the frog. We scramble after it, laughing.

I didn't realize then that his statement had been literal. I STILL don't know what(more)
50 words | fiction | making f...
the voyage
"During this voyage of a lifetime, always remember..." The priest's nasally voice trailed off.

"Remember what?" said Captain Harkner.

"Just... remember," said the priest. "In general. You'll never complete your voyage if you can't remember things! That's why I'm staying safely here at home: mind like a(more)
50 words | fiction | memory
before we knew
Before we knew what was happening, I was hanging by my fingertips over about a billion miles of empty sky, my buddy and his parachute were dwindling into an invisible speck somewhere below me, and the chicks were whooping like banshees.
(more)
50 words | fiction | spontane...
corner store
"I'm returning this puzzle."

"Sorry, we don't do returns on products that have been taken out of the packaging."

"But there were pieces missing!" (more)
50 words | fiction | pun
future plans
"What are your plans for the future?" Grandma asked me during dinner one evening.

"Er," I said. "Um. Uh. I guess..."

"You should become a lawyer," she declared, "and find yourself a wife."

So I went straight home, fired up PhotoShop, and started putting together some(more)
50 words | fiction | PhotoSho...