In the living room of a small house on Marigold Street that had a freshly mowed lawn and a prim garden bordered by daisies, Evan Cummings sat on his grandfather’s lap His grandfather was a big man who had been a...
That Halloween was cool and foggy, making it even more creepy and mysterious than Lacey remembered She was seven years old, and she wanted to be brave, even though it frightened her to think of the ghouls, ghosts and...
Officer O’Meara is tired The coffee at the precinct is so bad that he didn’t manage to choke a cup down before setting off in his cruiser He thinks about the Starbucks in Oak Grove, the tiny town on the other...
Of my two daughters, Maggie was the stable one, with a sensible answer for every difficulty life threw at us Except when it came to the cat One morning as I collected my things for the office, she pointed out the...
Saturdays were the best days, and in the holiday season they were best of all Shoppers came stamping in, parcels rustling, the bell on the door jangling And then there was chatter The shop keeper and his wife were...
Principal Swank leaned back, his rolling chair squeaking beneath him, and placed his fingers behind his head as if he intended to take a nap “We don’t tolerate bullying here, Brandon” Brandon shifted in his...
New Years Day dawned brilliantly clear and bitingly cold, as if the world had become a giant cryogenic chamber Bonnie Rasmussen-Peterson expected this from Minnesota winters Her husband Anders occasionally suggested...
This short story was a contest entry a writing prompt contest I love fiction contests, as they are so motivating, with a prompt and a deadline It's magical The theme of this contest was "tension" If you read my...
The path along the riverbank was muddy from a morning rainstorm Jillian trudged the half-mile walk to Grandfather’s house, past the farmlands, the old rancher’s grain silo, and the tattered wood fencing that needed...
Frogs croaked in a rhythm as if timed to a metronome, and fireflies flickered in the rushes On the deck, a glass of wine in hand, Carey watched the darkening sky and rising crescent moon Then she turned to the glow of...
Marilyn, 1959 The dogs barked again, as if to chase off the night I knew there was something out there My coonhounds could raise the dead with their barking Maybe there was a predator after the chickens Or possibly...
Things would have been so different, had I not fallen in love that hot summer I would have spent my days boating with my brothers, working in my father’s carpentry business, and chasing girls who would not be caught...
One night Helen left the window ajar to let in the late September breeze She had chosen this little yellow stucco house by the sea because it was quaint and old and had a stately charm But that night she became...
(Photo credit: @agsttne) The road from Bozeman to Fargo is flat and lifeless Rudy is determined to get the long drive behind them He pushes the speed limit, rushing past the dreary blur of...
Image source: CBS New York Sonya slept that morning, catching up It was the sleep of angels, floating on a puff of clouds and feathers Then a tap and a nudge and she was coming to, through foggy, feathery...
The family climbed up the steep dune, which muffled all but a muted bellow of waves Finally, they crested the rise where cloud-clad sun, gulls, and a broad seascape lay before them Spectacularly, a giant rock...
Two detectives looked out across the grounds of the estate with its heir, Andrew Sarcophogus Some serious shit had gone down Andrew’s parents were dead and a work of art had been stolen The forensics team still...
The drifters came upon the dusty Oklahoma town off Route 66 on a gray October afternoon They were hungry and tired, and were just barely managing to put one foot in front of the other Jed hoped to find work so they...
Keira sniffed and listened The chill air carried scents from miles away She would catch a whiff of something and then the wind would change Mary Beth sat nursing the blisters on her heels They had been hiking for...
Jenny plucked the dandelions from the lawn I didn’t want to say I preferred to dig them up to get the roots So much of life is about realizing what matters, and letting go I patted her legs, where they lay across...
This was an entry for The Writers' Block Art Prompt Writing Contest #12 The image below from @vaughndemont is the "art prompt" for this contest ### The motel was a bleak little lakeside place with an armpit...
You wish you could stop the future In your dream, the old man tries to cross the tracks when there's an oncoming train You first see him as you leave the little grocery on the edge of town where you shop to...
Each day the woman pushed the carriage across the bridge The Palmer Twins lived in a house in the shadow of the bridge, near the base of its footings They often played in their backyard, a scrap of earth too...
Nick and Franny drove up Highway 101 from Garberville in Nick’s ancient, coughing VW bus It was hot Wild fires had burned throughout Northern California in recent weeks and a gray haze and the smell of smoke...
Sanibel had always lived by the sea, and this was how she was named--for the beautiful Sanibel Island with its turquoise waters and white sand beach “From the moment you were born, you were fresh as a sea...
