Mystery

Every 40 Seconds…
Raindrops beat away on my windshield. The rhythm of their pitter patter hypnotizes me, and brings me back to that night. I take another long burning swig from the Vodka filled thermos with a single tear snaking down my eye.
By Kenneth cruz2 years ago in Fiction
What Does It Take Courage For You To Do Or Not Do?
“Sorry, but I am afraid,” Georgia said pacing around in the park as Sherry sat on one of many concrete benches. Sherry coaxes, “Just go in and pick up the red bag on the floor beside the table at the window. You will be paid.”
By Annelise Lords 2 years ago in Fiction
It Was To Be Expected
The shock of the fall was still on Mother‘s face when I found her at the bottom of the stairs. If only she had been plucked discretely by the Reaper, with no knowledge of the end—not that losing her would have been any easier; just that, perhaps, my skin would have crawled a little bit less. She lied limp on the expensive Italian marble floor. Her eyes—blue like the lagoons on our last trip to Tahiti—were open, looking up as if searching for a way out. I pulled down the hem of her night robe to preserve her dignity. This one was her favorite, white with dark blue lilies—her family’s beloved fleur de lys.
By Lily Séjor2 years ago in Fiction
Beating the system.
After things are said and done, my life will return to all I know — waking up, going to work, enjoying a lunch break, driving home, stopping for lottery tickets and beer on the way, showering, walking the dogs, playing with the dogs, making dinner, reading the news, watching jeopardy, consider doing laundry, deciding it's too much work, putting on headphones instead and drowning out the world with an edgy playlist of my favorite tracks that define a music era I never mentally left... (loses breath) A routine fit for King of the bachelors. More like The King of Misfortune.
By Lamar Wiggins2 years ago in Fiction
The Sleepless Sentinel
I've always been a light sleeper. Even before I knew what really goes on in this neighborhood. At night. While everyone else is sound asleep, oblivious to the dangers lurking about, I'm keeping watch. After all, someone has to protect this community.
By Test2 years ago in Fiction
How May I Assist You Today?. First Place in Unreliable Challenge. Content Warning.
Chat Activated: "How May I Assist You Today?" Input: Write me a fifty-word fantasy story for my English assignment. “Acknowledged.
By Matthew J. Fromm2 years ago in Fiction
The Drive to Your Parents' House
As I lay amidst the wreckage, looking towards the love of my life, I wondered what had gone wrong, that we had ended so swiftly. With my hands on the wheel. I'm sure they are my hands. One would know their own hands, wouldn't one? The scent of fresh grass cuttings, hot rubber from the tyres and petrol, blood, sweat and the bergamot and orange blossom of your Gucci Bamboo fill my lungs.
By Paul Stewart2 years ago in Fiction
The Past Comes Forward
Luke It's been years since I've seen Matt. Things were never the same after that day. How could it be? Ah, we still hung around together, connected by a shared secret and sorrow but the strings connecting us were never as tight. We were sworn but we were scared, suspicious of the hold we each had over the other. Who would break first? It was like a high stakes poker game, all the time. Believe me, there were times I wanted to tell, when the nightmares struck and my mum asked "What is it, Luke?" but whenever I was tempted, I remembered the bruises on Mark's arm.
By Rachel Deeming2 years ago in Fiction
The Last Page
Sarah fought her way through the unyielding sheets of rain that fell on the cobblestoned avenues of Oldtown, her umbrella just barely preventing a downpour from soaking her to the bone. The charming narrow streets and the dozens of centuries-old buildings had always made it an enjoyable place to stroll, but tonight, something about them felt oppressive. Memories of stories about the haunted old library at the end of the street with its ghostly wordsmith crept up her spine, making her shiver.
By Nazmul Hossain2 years ago in Fiction
Camera - Found
I came across the camera by accident. I was in the back of Mum's wardrobe, looking for her shoe horn, like she'd asked me to, when I found this black bag, a loose cover containing something and wondered what it was. I took it out and had a good look at it. I never remembered Mum with it although we all used phones to take photos now, never a camera anyway.
By Rachel Deeming2 years ago in Fiction
The Future of Ukraine in the EU
It had been a year since Elena and her family left their home in Mariupol, a year since the war had torn through their lives like a storm no one could have prepared for. The morning they fled, the sky was painted with an eerie orange glow, not from the rising sun but from the fires raging in the distance. The sound of explosions, once unfamiliar, had become a part of their daily lives. But this day, Elena knew they had to leave. Her son, Maksim, had stopped asking when the war would end. Her daughter, Sofia, had grown quieter, no longer begging for stories about the future. They had to leave—for their children, for a chance at safety.
By Lory2 years ago in Fiction
The Shadow of the Nightingale. Content Warning.
The downpour pounded against the dingy window of the Parisian bistro, obscuring the neon lights of the clamoring road outside. Inside, Elena, a lady with eyes as sharp as the stiletto she conveyed, sat alone, nursing a tepid espresso. She was an apparition, a ghost in the city's underside, moving concealed, unheard, all her means determined, everything she might do a quiet dance of trickiness.
By sanjeevan2 years ago in Fiction