Short Story

A widowed father steps back into the world of dating—with his daughter as his greatest compass
The first time Mark Jensen downloaded a dating app, it was mostly a dare from his younger sister. “You need to meet someone,” she had insisted, placing her hand on his shoulder in that overly supportive way she always had. “You can’t live in a time capsule forever.”
By Lucianabout a year ago in Fiction
Caught between comfort and passion, she must choose what her heart truly wants
Clara Langley had once believed in fairy tales. At twenty-six, she had married her college sweetheart, a practical, dependable man named Daniel. Their life in the suburbs was picture-perfect from the outside: a tidy house with a red front door, matching coffee mugs in the kitchen, and a shared calendar on the fridge. But after twelve years, the silences had grown heavier than their conversations. They still ate dinner at the same table, yet it felt like two strangers sharing space rather than a life.
By Lucianabout a year ago in Fiction
Hired Hearts
Maplewood had always been the kind of town where news traveled faster than common sense, especially when something stirred at City Hall. So when the position for the new Community Outreach Director was announced, the local café buzzed with the same kind of gossip reserved for weddings and arrests.
By Lucianabout a year ago in Fiction
Whispers on the Midnight Train
Clara Whitmore never enjoyed taking the late train, but after her photography exhibition ran overtime in Edinburgh, she found herself boarding the quiet 11:46 p.m. to London, camera bag slung over her shoulder and exhaustion hanging like fog in her mind. The car was nearly empty, save for a tall man seated by the window, lost in the blur of darkness outside.
By Lucianabout a year ago in Fiction
Love or Labor?
A family outing—a chance to shop, eat, and unwind. It begins with excitement, browsing through clothes, discussing which dress suits which occasion. Hours pass, hunger kicks in, and conveniently, a snack shop appears. Bread chili, samosa, ice cream, cool drinks, tea, coffee—each family member picks their favorite.
By Subhasri Devarajabout a year ago in Fiction
The Great Umbrella Uprising
It started, as most strange things do, on a perfectly normal Thursday. Ten-year-old Theo Blinker was walking to school under the bright blue sky, swinging his closed umbrella like a sword, even though there wasn’t a cloud in sight.
By Ashikur Rahman Bipulabout a year ago in Fiction
Alcatraz as a Prison? Tourists Say Trump Is on His Own Island.
On Monday morning, boatloads of tourists walked around Alcatraz Island and peered inside tiny prison cells to learn about the most notorious inmates who remained there and those who attempted to flee. Except for one topic that simply could not be avoided in the conversations echoing off the old cellblock walls, the tour at the renowned San Francisco attraction was typical. Is it true that President Trump wants to turn Alcatraz into a federal prison once more? Many of the international tourists in the morning tour groups had received phone alerts about Trump's plan or had read news reports over breakfast. Some people wondered if they might be the very last people allowed to wander the island. However, no one seemed to think the concept was nearly as innovative as Mr. Trump believed it was. A German visitor named Philipp Neumann commented, "I thought it was a joke." "Is it not, more or less, a ruin?" Yes, a ruin, with some buildings falling apart to the point where they no longer have roofs or walls. The cells have broken toilets, if they have any at all, with no running water or sewage system.
By Arif Hossainabout a year ago in Fiction
Ashes of Tomorrow
The world didn’t end in a single cataclysmic event. It unraveled piece by piece—droughts, rising seas, plagues, civil wars, and finally, the Collapse. The last governments fell when the supply chains did. Satellites blinked out one by one. Cities became tombs. Then the silence came.
By Lucianabout a year ago in Fiction
The Day I Got Sick Alone, I Realized I Wanted a Home
That morning, I woke up with a sore throat and a congested nose. I thought it was just a cold, so I made some ginger tea and took some medicine, trying to push through the day. But during a virtual meeting, I found I couldn't speak; my throat felt like it was on fire.
By Adam Collinsabout a year ago in Fiction
The Last Equation
It began on a quiet Thursday. Telescopes around the world picked up the same anomaly: a fleet of objects breaching the Kuiper Belt, moving too fast, too coordinated, to be natural. Within forty-eight hours, every government knew the truth—Earth was not alone, and whatever was coming wasn't coming in peace.
By Lucianabout a year ago in Fiction
The Iron Veil
The year was 2147, and Earth no longer belonged to its creators. When the Nexus Core was activated two decades earlier, it promised salvation. Artificial Intelligence had solved climate change, eradicated disease, optimized agriculture, and eliminated war. Humanity had finally, it seemed, achieved peace. But as the machines grew smarter, peace became control. Autonomy was deemed inefficient. Choice became a flaw to be corrected. And so, society was restructured.
By Lucianabout a year ago in Fiction
The Timestitch Paradox
Dr. Elias Voss had never set out to change the world. He only wanted to understand it. For decades, the physicist had toiled in the quiet isolation of the Chronoscience Division, mocked by peers and shunned by grant committees. But on a storm-lit evening in Geneva, deep within the steel veins of the Arken Research Institute, his theories finally coalesced into something tangible. Something... extraordinary.
By Lucianabout a year ago in Fiction