Microfiction

Behind the Door
Once upon a time there was a door that was not connected to a doorframe. Hardly anyone ever dared or cared to open it. Behind the door was a candle that’s flame had been burning since the beginning of time.
By Rowan Finley 4 months ago in Fiction
Head Full of Sundays
Harlan wasn’t the sort of person who jumped right up in a rush to go home after Sunday church service was over. He wasn’t in a hurry to get on to the next thing. Instead, he liked to sit quietly in his favorite seat – the far left-hand corner of the very back pew – and watch the chapel slowly transition from a bustling, energetic place where people came to yell, sing, and shout to the way it was the rest of the time. He liked the way things became quiet, empty, peaceful, and just a little bit lonely.
By Shannon Hilson4 months ago in Fiction
The Boy Who Stopped Time
Part One: The Shop That Smelled Like Yesterday On the narrow cobblestone street of Rue de Mémoire, between a baker who sang to his bread and a florist who talked to her roses, stood a tiny clock shop with a crooked wooden sign that read: "SOLEN & SON Keepers of Time" Inside, every wall was covered with clocks. Grandfather clocks with deep, dignified ticks. Tiny silver pocket watches with heartbeat pulses. Cuckoo clocks that announced the hour with cheerful birds. Antique brass clocks that hummed like sleeping cats. They were all different, yet all said the same thing time moves forward, always forward, whether you are ready or not. The shop belonged to an old man named Henri Solen. But Henri had died on a Tuesday in March, quietly, in his favourite armchair, with grease on his fingers and a half-repaired watch in his lap. Now the shop belonged to his son, Theo seventeen, hollow-eyed, and utterly unable to wind a single clock. On the morning after the funeral, Theo walked into the shop, sat on his father's stool, and did the only thing that felt honest. He let every clock in the room run down. One by one, the ticking stopped. The cuckoo birds fell silent mid-song. The grandfather clock's pendulum swayed once, twice, then hung still. By evening, the shop was the quietest place in the city. If time had taken his father, Theo reasoned, then time could stop.
By Kamal ali4 months ago in Fiction
The Girl Who Carried the Lantern
Part One: The Village That Forgot the Sun In a valley tucked between two ancient mountains, there was a village called Ashenmoor. It was a place where the fog never fully lifted where mornings arrived grey and evenings left even greyer. The people of Ashenmoor had long forgotten the warmth of sunlight, not because the sun had vanished, but because they had stopped looking up.
By Kamal ali4 months ago in Fiction
Two People Connected Through a Magical Book
The Book Hidden on the Highest Shelf On a cold November afternoon, Olivia Hart wandered into an old bookstore she had never noticed before. The narrow building stood between two modern shops, its faded wooden sign barely visible beneath layers of ivy. She had no particular reason for entering. In truth, she was simply trying to escape the rain. The store smelled of old paper and dust, and its shelves stretched from floor to ceiling. As she browsed through forgotten novels and worn journals, her attention was drawn to a thick leather-bound book resting on the highest shelf in the corner. The cover was dark blue and strangely warm to the touch. There was no title. No author's name. Only a single sentence engraved in silver letters: For the one who needs to be heard. Curious, Olivia opened the book and discovered that every page was blank except the first. Written in elegant handwriting were the words, If you can read this, then the book has chosen you.
By Robert Redford4 months ago in Fiction
Echoes of Deep Water. Content Warning.
The tide at Blackwood Bay didn't pull out; it whispered. Maeve stood on the wet sands, the bioluminescent foam licking at her bare ankles. To the townspeople, the glowing blue water was a curse the blood of the Leviathan that slept in the deep trench. But to Maeve, a marine biologist whose family had guarded the coast for generations, the sea was an old, possessive lover. She held a copper lantern high, casting long shadows across the black jagged rocks. "You're late," she called out to the waves. The water bubbled. A few yards out, the sea parted without a sound. A man emerged from the surf, though "man" was a generous term. Julian possessed the striking, aristocratic features of a lost prince, but his skin was the pale silver of a shark’s underbelly, and webbed, clawed fingers tipped his hands. Along his neck, hidden beneath dark, soaking hair, gills pulsed rhythmically. He walked ashore, the water sliding off his shoulders as if afraid to touch him. "The deep currents were restless tonight, Maeve," Julian said, his voice a low, melodic echo that vibrated directly inside her skull rather than her ears. "The elders feel your island's construction drones drilling into the shelf. They want blood." Maeve felt a shiver run down her spine, but she didn’t retreat. Julian stopped inches from her, the scent of ozone and crushed pearls enveloping her. He was an Eldritch prince of the abyssal deep, a creature that should have inspired primal terror, yet her heart thudded with a reckless, human longing. "I tried to stop the council," Maeve said, looking up into his pitch-black eyes, which lacked any whites or irises. "They don't believe the legends. They think it's just oil down there." "They will learn," Julian murmured. He raised a clawed hand, his touch surprisingly tender as he stroked her cheek. His skin was freezing, a shock of absolute zero that made Maeve gasp, but a strange, intoxicating magic numbed the pain, replacing it with a euphoric warmth. "But I did not come to speak of greedy men. I came to see if you made your choice." Maeve looked back at the distant lights of her coastal town. It was a safe life, a predictable life. But it was suffocating. Every day she analyzed water samples, dreaming of the vast, terrifying ecosystems Julian described—cities made of living coral, trenches where starlight was traded like currency, and ancient songs that could move continents. "If I come with you," Maeve whispered, her breath fogging in the cold air, "I can't breathe down there, Julian. I’ll drown." Julian smiled, revealing rows of sharp, needle-like teeth that should have horrified her, but only made him look heartbreakingly wild. "The sea demands a transformation, my love. A exchange of elements. You must give up the air to inherit the ocean." From the cliffs above, a flashlight beam suddenly pierced the fog. "Maeve!" a voice shouted from the distance. It was her supervisor, Miller. "Get away from the water! The sensors are registering a massive seismic anomaly right off the coast!" Julian’s posture shifted instantly. The gentle prince vanished, replaced by a predator. His gills flared, and the bioluminescent water around his legs began to churn violently, turning a angry, neon crimson. "They run out of time," he hissed, his Eldritch aura flaring, making the air feel heavy and pressurized. "Julian, wait! Don't hurt him!" Maeve pleaded, grabbing his arm. The texture was smooth like wet marble, but beneath it, muscles like coiled steel flexed. "Then choose, Maeve," Julian commanded, his dark eyes locking onto hers, pulling her mind into a vision of the deep sea a world of terrifying beauty, free from bills, clocks, and small-town expectations. "Stay in your cage of dirt, or rule the abyss with me." The ground shook. A low, bass-heavy rumble vibrated from the ocean floor as the Leviathan stirred, responding to its prince. The pier at the edge of the bay began to splinter. Maeve looked at Miller’s flashlight, then down at the glowing water. She dropped the copper lantern. It hit the wet sand and sputtered out, plunging them into a world lit only by the ocean’s magic. "Take me," Maeve said. Julian’s expression softened into something resembling worship. He caught her in his arms, his webbed fingers securing her waist. "Hold your breath for the last time," he whispered against her lips. He kissed her, and it tasted like salt, starlight, and ancient secrets. As Julian pulled her backward into the crashing, bioluminescent waves, Maeve opened her mouth to scream, but instead of water filling her lungs, a cold, magical fire bloomed in her chest. The darkness of the deep ocean welcomed her home.
By Kamal ali4 months ago in Fiction
Where the Phoenix Falls
The ash-fall always made Kaelen’s prosthetic lung click. He stood on the edge of the Obsidian District, the mechanical copper valve in his chest rhythmically wheezing against the sulfur air. Below him, the Neon-Spire city of Vespera pulsed with cold blue light, but up here, in the ruins of the Old Kingdom, the world was dead.
By Kamal ali4 months ago in Fiction
The Blank Card
A skillful player kept his cards face down throughout the game. One by one, the others surrendered. The crowd, seeing only hidden hands and an untouched wager, declared him defeated.
By LUCCIAN LAYTH4 months ago in Fiction
Car Trouble
"JESUS!" Stacy shouted. "Get out of the way!" Stacy slammed the horn. Her meeting started in five. She was at least ten minutes away.
By Rachel Deeming4 months ago in Fiction
The Woman Who Forgot Her Husband Every Day
The Morning Stranger Every morning at exactly 7:15, Emma Lawson opened her eyes and met a stranger. It didn't matter how peaceful the previous day had been or how many hours she had spent talking, laughing, and creating memories with the man beside her. By the time the sun rose, everything was gone. The unfamiliar bedroom, the wedding photographs on the walls, and the silver ring resting on her finger all felt like pieces of someone else's life. Panic became her daily companion. Her heart would race as she stared at the man sleeping beside her, trying desperately to understand why he was there. Then he would wake up, offer a tired but gentle smile, and introduce himself. His name was Daniel. He was her husband. They had been married for eight years. Every morning, he spoke those words as though it were the first time, and every morning Emma struggled to believe them.
By Robert Redford4 months ago in Fiction
A Love Letter Delivered 50 Years Late
The Letter That Arrived Too Late The envelope arrived on a quiet autumn morning, tucked between utility bills and advertisements in Eleanor Whitmore's mailbox. At first glance, it appeared ordinary. The paper was yellowed with age, and the stamp looked like something from another era. Curious, Eleanor carried it inside and sat at her kitchen table. The moment she saw the postmark, her heart nearly stopped. The letter had been mailed fifty years earlier.
By Robert Redford4 months ago in Fiction
The Stranger Who Appeared in Every Dream
The First Dream The dreams began on an ordinary night. Nathan had fallen asleep after another exhausting day at work, expecting nothing more than the usual collection of random images that faded by morning. Instead, he found himself standing in the middle of a deserted train station beneath a dark sky. The platform stretched endlessly in both directions, illuminated by flickering lamps that cast long shadows across the ground. Everything was silent except for the distant sound of a train that never seemed to arrive. Then he noticed someone standing at the far end of the platform. A man dressed in a black coat watched him without speaking. Before Nathan could approach him, the dream ended.
By Robert Redford4 months ago in Fiction