Short Story

The Last Wednesday Before Spring
Brisk mustiness from the morning entered through the partially opened window. The humidity formed a heaviness in the air, sticking onto Mitra's skin as she lay in bed, restless from a sleepless night. Her tired eyes were dry, and her head throbbing.
By Delphi6 months ago in Fiction
Calm Before
The large black floor fan roared as it circulated air from the window above into the warm room. The long, lightweight, white curtains billowed away from and to the windows, no longer blocking any direct sunlight, as the sun had finally dipped below the hills of the valley. Alice the cat sat beside Tanner, occasionally reaching out a paw to request attention as Tanner sorted and filtered a busy email inbox on her laptop.
By Rebecca Louden6 months ago in Fiction
Ending Unknown
Elvira grew up being told her fate was decided. Prior to her birth there was prophecy that her family had been fulfilling from the baker who married the traveling Gypsies youngest child up until recently with her whole family dying before her tenth birthday. And our young hero had grown skeptical because did not screw up her knees in the dark forest from a fall. However on her sixteenth birthday her arm did nearly meet a ghastly fate from a crocodile that thought she was a tasty treat.
By Lisa Pulliam6 months ago in Fiction
The Way She Smiles
“I’m leaving. I’ve handed in my four-weeks notice. I leave at the end of the school year.” I hear the words she said, take in each syllable, but my mind goes blank. I stare at her, this teacher who has been with me for so long, who has been the only reassurance I’ve had for years. I don’t understand.
By Maddy Haywood6 months ago in Fiction
The Fae King. Top Story - March 2026.
It began with a girl. Black-haired and sweet and gone too soon. It is the way of mortals to die, of course. Most pass within a few decades, unless they can be tempted away to fairyland and persuaded to stay there. Even then, mortals live only as long as they can go without visits to friends or family that allow time and the weight of years to catch up to them.
By Natasja Rose6 months ago in Fiction
Mr Bear
The thing about fire is that it spreads so very quickly. One moment you’ve watched your mom light a candle on the windowsil, and you can smell the vanilla scent wafting through the air. You’re setting out the tea set for your dolls, the same way you do every day. Mr Bear sits front and centre, the most important guest of honour waiting for his drink.
By Maddy Haywood6 months ago in Fiction
The Tragic Tale of Jedfrey Mulligan. Content Warning.
Jedfrey Mulligan stood 6’8’’ in his stocking feet and weighed a good 280 pounds on a good day. Once he won a race at the county fair, running a quarter mile - it was a horse race. The county fair discontinued the eating contests, as did each of the towns all around, because he could outeat anyone within 250 miles. He could lay a man out flat with one swing from his mighty left fist and perform a hundred-fifty pull-ups with his right arm. He could lift a wagon and change the wheel and axle without aid, and once lifted his neighbor's ox and carried it home, over two miles away.
By Mother Combs6 months ago in Fiction
Still Life. Runner-Up in Something Is Beginning, I Think Challenge.
On an evening like any other, Edgar was ironing his clothes for the Big Day, when he had a troubling thought. Thoughts were not common for Edgar, let alone troubling ones. Usually, he bumped along from A to B to C in a lovely soup of apathy. The thought was this: What is the Big Day?
By Raistlin Allen6 months ago in Fiction
Insurances. Runner-Up in The Rule Everyone Knows Challenge. Top Story - March 2026.
When I was asked to move from the big city of Philly halfway across the country to the small town of Centerville, OK, I was excited for the new start and the new job. My insurance company offered me a promotion to move because I'm young and unattached. I was to be one of two agents in the branch.
By Julie Lacksonen6 months ago in Fiction
Tiny Fists. Runner-Up in Something Is Beginning, I Think Challenge.
The steps were steep and dark. They quietly mocked her, as if she hadn’t climbed the steps at her mama’s apartment every day since she could walk.
By Adam Kolozetti6 months ago in Fiction
Worrying
Start at the beginning and read the entire series! Click the link below: Roger leaned over his drafting table, scrutinizing the blueprints spread before him. The midmorning sun streamed through his office window filling it with much appreciated light and raising the temperature to an unwelcome level. He could feel a little bead of sweat trickle down the back of his neck.
By A. J. Schoenfeld6 months ago in Fiction
A Destination Needs A Dreamer. Top Story - March 2026.
Gatlin heard the violin every evening on the commute back from work. Wending between warm rushing bodies on the subway, eyes forward, bag clasped protectively at her side, she drank it in at the same time as she didn't slow. It was probably the best part of her day. The shivering strains crescendoed and collapsed, tugging at something in her core. She'd never seen the violinist, but whoever he was, he was clearly a master, clearly professionally trained. The music always seemed to be coming from somewhere further down the track, around a bend, just out of eyeshot. She'd come to think fancifully that it was something only she could hear. She’d come to think of it as her future, calling.
By Raistlin Allen6 months ago in Fiction