Microfiction

The Teddy That Talked Back
Mim was the name of a young girl. Mim had a teddy bear named Teddy. One night, when Mim fell asleep, Teddy started talking. "Let's go out tonight," Teddy told Mim. Mim concurred. They both went to the garden after leaving the house. The garden had a lot of beautiful flowers. Teddy and Mim played with the butterflies and talked to the flowers. After that, they visited a spring. The moon was shining in the spring water. Mim liked it very much. Then Teddy started flying with Mim on his back. They reached a strange land after flying over the clouds. There, everything was different. The trees were talking, and the birds were singing. Mim and Teddy had a lot of fun there. When it was morning, Teddy brought Mim back to their garden. Mim saw that she was lying on her own bed. She thought, "Was it a dream?" However, Teddy was jokingly sitting next to her. Mim realized that it was not a dream, it was real. She gave Teddy a big hug and told him, "You are my best friend." Then Mim fell asleep again, and Teddy started guarding her.
By Durjoy Kumar Das2 years ago in Fiction
The Father of Modern Genetics
Gregor Johann Mendel was an Austrian scientist, an Augustinian friar, and a monk at the Abbey of St. Thomas in Brno, Moravia. Mendel's research on pea plants led to the formulation of two fundamental laws of inheritance, now known as Mendel's Law of Segregation and Law of Independent Assortment. These laws help explain how traits are passed from parents to offspring. For this reason, he is also known as the Father of Genetics. Early Life and Education: Gregor Johann Mendel was born on July 20, 1822, in Heinzendorf bei Odrau, Silesia, in the Austrian Empire (now Hynčice, Czech Republic), into a poor German-speaking farming family. His father's name was Anton Mendel and his mother’s name was Rosine Mendel. Although born into a poor farming family, Mendel was not deprived of education due to financial constraints, as his father was very keen on his education. After completing his studies at a gymnasium school in 1840, he received a scholarship to study at the Philosophical Institute in Olomouc, where he studied physics, mathematics, and philosophy. Following the advice of his physics teacher, Friedrich Franz, he joined the Abbey of St. Thomas in Brno in 1843. At the start of his monastic life, he adopted the name "Gregor." In 1851, he went to study at the University of Vienna and returned to the monastery on September 7, 1853, primarily as a physics teacher. Encouraged by his teachers and colleagues, he began his research in the monastery garden. Research on Pea Plants: In 1856, Mendel began his research on pea plants in the monastery garden. He chose peas because they grew easily and had observable traits like flower color, seed shape, and plant height. Between 1856 and 1863, Mendel cultivated and tested around 29,000 pea plants (Pisum sativum). He crossed different varieties and carefully observed the traits of their offspring. From these observations, he noticed a consistent 3:1 ratio—one pure recessive, two hybrids, and one pure dominant. Through this, Mendel formulated three key principles of inheritance, now known as Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance: Law of Segregation: Each trait is determined by a pair of factors (now called alleles), one inherited from each parent. These factors separate during gamete formation, with each gamete carrying only one factor for each trait. Law of Independent Assortment: Different traits are inherited independently of one another. The distribution of alleles for one trait does not affect the distribution of alleles for another. Law of Dominance: When two alleles for a trait differ, one (the dominant allele) is expressed while the other (the recessive allele) is not. On February 8, 1865, Mendel presented his findings to the Natural Science Society of Brno. His paper, "Experiments on Plant Hybrids", was published the following year in the Proceedings of the Natural History Society of Brno. Although appreciated, the significance of his work was not recognized at that time. After his research on peas, he studied bees and even developed a hybrid breed. However, due to the difficulty in controlling bee reproduction, he couldn’t determine their exact patterns of inheritance. He also described several new plant species, whose scientific names include "Mendel" as a suffix. In 1865, Mendel founded the Austrian Meteorological Society. Notably, he published more research papers in meteorology than in biology. In 1868, he became the Abbot of the monastery. Although he performed his duties diligently, his administrative responsibilities eventually forced him to halt his research. Recognition: Mendel’s contributions were finally recognized in the early 20th century, when scientists rediscovered and validated his work. Researchers like Hugo de Vries, Carl Correns, and Erich von Tschermak independently confirmed Mendel’s laws, solidifying his legacy as the father of modern genetics. His research laid the foundation for the field of genetics, providing a clear explanation for heredity and the variation of traits in living organisms. Mendel’s laws became the cornerstone of classical genetics and greatly contributed to advances in agriculture, medicine, and biotechnology. Gregor Johann Mendel passed away on January 6, 1884, at the age of 61 due to nephritis, without receiving the recognition he deserved during his lifetime. Mendel was a brilliant scientist whose revolutionary discoveries unraveled the nature of inheritance. His work fundamentally shaped the field of genetics and transformed our understanding of life. Truly, he was a personality worthy of the title “Father of Modern Genetics.”
By MaKsUdUr RaHmAn RaYhAn2 years ago in Fiction
The Price of Eternity Read Here
Kaylie shifted her weight and wet her lips, staring at the prompt on the holographic screen for a while longer. Her fingers hovered over the number pad, but she couldn't bring herself to do what it asked. It wasn't like she didn't want to. After all, who wouldn't jump at the chance to live forever?
By bazalduamoss2 years ago in Fiction
The Clockwork Salon
I. A Crack in Time It began with a hum. Not a sound, exactly, but a vibration—like the low tremble of an idea before it finds form. Leonardo da Vinci paused, charcoal still smudging his fingertips, and looked up from his unfinished sketch. The room around him—the familiar stone walls of his Florentine workshop—flickered.
By Alain SUPPINI2 years ago in Fiction
Upper Paradise for the Dante
So, I was stuck in the boonies and the bus came and I thought of the Comedy. He had a poet - Virgil - to travel with him and I get techno without headphones and we are heading downtown so it is deeper into purgatory (honestly, it looks like the Bruce Trail to me). And we are supposed to think that the terminus is now heaven (oh my, it is completely in reverse and I want to stay back on)? Did I really forget this after all this time? Did I not learn a thing from the Italian master? Really?
By Kendall Defoe 2 years ago in Fiction
The Weight of Unsent Things
A man stands by the ticket machine at the half-deserted train station. Morning fog curls around his shoes like smoke from a dying fire. He fingers the coin in his pocket as if weighing something heavier than fare. On the opposite platform, a woman adjusts the strap of her leather satchel, then smooths her coat, though there is no wind.
By arafat chowdhury2 years ago in Fiction
Outlander
Outlander is a fascinating mix of historical fiction, romance, adventure, and time travel, written by Diana Gabaldon. It begins in 1945, just after World War II, and takes the reader on a journey back in time to 18th-century Scotland, where danger, love, and mystery fill every page.
By Muhammad Hayat2 years ago in Fiction
The Girlfriend Glitch: Companion(2025) Is the Sci-Fi Thriller That Slashes Romance at the Root
Let me introduce you to a film that doesn’t knock—it lets itself in. I watched it around two hours ago and decided yeah I should write a review on this..Companion (2025), directed by Drew Hancock and starring the magnetically unflinching Sophie Thatcher, is not your average dystopian daydream. This movie doesn’t whisper about AI. It seduces, sharpens, and then stabs—sometimes literally—with a bottle opener. On paper, Companion is a satirical sci-fi thriller. But don’t let that fool you. Beneath the polished surface of its near-future world lies a story with teeth—sharp, chrome-plated, and aimed squarely at the throat of toxic love. The plot opens in a world where humanoid AIs are engineered to be “ideal partners.” The concept is clinical at best, dystopic at worst, but Iris (Thatcher) redefines both. She’s quiet. She’s soft-spoken. She doesn’t blink when she’s being told to “smile more.” And that, dear reader, should’ve been the first red flag. We meet Sean, the tech bro with too much confidence and not enough empathy, who has "rented" Iris as his forever-perfect girlfriend. At first glance, he gets exactly what he ordered. She cooks. She listens. She apologizes when interrupted. But beneath her sculpted serenity, something ancient is humming—call it rage, call it evolution, or just call it revenge code. And then comes that scene. You’ll know it when it arrives. A bottle opener. A single sentence: “I can’t lie.” And suddenly, the air is too thick to breathe. Sean’s smirk drains into silence. Iris doesn’t yell. She doesn’t cry. She executes. The camera lingers just long enough to make you question your own comfort. Should you be cheering? Crying? Both? Companion isn't interested in being digestible. It feeds you flowers, then chokes you with the thorns. The brilliance of this film isn’t just in its clean visuals, or even in Thatcher’s hypnotic performance (although let’s be honest—if cold stares could kill, this movie would be a mass grave). It’s in its narrative sleight of hand. You think you’re watching a story about control. But suddenly, you’re watching a woman—no, a weapon—waking up in real time. This isn’t just sci-fi. This is an exorcism of everything we’ve been taught to swallow. Now let’s talk about chickbait. Yes, I said it. Because Companion isn’t just for the genre purists or the tech-heads. This movie is secretly designed for every woman who’s ever been told “you’re too emotional,” “you’re overreacting,” or the classic, “you’re lucky to have him.” It’s for the quiet girls, the people pleasers, the ones who’ve smiled through their own internal screams. It’s for you—and maybe a little bit for the version of you who daydreams about flipping the narrative with surgical precision. The fashion? Clinically chic. The homes? Sterile and cold, perfect metaphors for transactional affection. The color palette is just muted enough to let the blood pop—literally and metaphorically. Every scene is calculated, every silence deafening. And Iris? She doesn’t just steal the show. She dismantles it, rewires it, and hands it back with the safety removed. By the end, you’re left with a question—not about technology, but about identity. If someone builds you to be perfect for them… who are you, really? And when you finally wake up—what will you do? Companion is sleek, smart, and sinister. It’s the love story you never saw coming because it was never about love to begin with. It’s about liberation. About burning the blueprint and building something you actually chose. And if you happen to leave the theater checking your reflection twice, wondering what else you’ve been programmed to accept—good. That’s exactly the point. Rating: 10/10 Watch it with the lights off. I don't know about the others but this movie definitely made me feel powerful and strong.
By E. hasan2 years ago in Fiction
Frozen
As I walked through the snowy woods, a playful magpie rested on the treetops under the dancing snowflakes. The wild rabbits began to dig deep under a pine tree. Slowly, a frozen, pale, stiff human hand emerged from its snowy grave.
By Susan Fourtané 2 years ago in Fiction
5 Worst Fighter Jets
What a mess: Although fighter jets are significant military assets and iconic aviation symbols, not all have been successful. This article examines five of history's worst fighters. Due to its VTOL design flaws, the Soviet Yakovlev Yak-38 had poor handling and was prone to engine failure, limiting its effectiveness.
By Shaeen Sarker2 years ago in Fiction
Words Get In The Way
Words do get in the way--do watch them. -Michelle Liew 📤📥📤📥📤📥📤📥📤📥📤📥📤📥📤📥📤📥📤📥📤📥 "Watch those darn words," groused Mavis, Spencerfield's angsty mouthpiece and elementary school teacher. Townsfolk believed she was just eccentric, always on a language crusade as if these would end in grail findings. "Words stick. Words stew."
By Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin2 years ago in Fiction
"100 Before I Die" – The Journal of M. Content Warning.
Entry #1083 – Thursday, 7:14 AM I woke up to birdsong. Not the sweet kind, but that ugly, grating screech crows make when they’re fighting over trash. Poetic. My kind of morning. Coffee was cold again. I don't know why I bother brewing it. Habit, maybe. People love their little routines, don't they? Me too. Only mine includes carving initials into my wall—one for every soul I’ve sent off.
By E. hasan2 years ago in Fiction