Short Story
Last Ride on Route 11
Last Ride on Route 11 by [ uzair hadi] The final run of Route 11 was always quiet. The bus rolled through the sleeping city like an old dog on its nightly patrol, its headlights brushing across shuttered storefronts, cracked sidewalks, and the glint of bottles left on curbs. Harold, the driver, had been doing this route for seventeen years, and the pattern had become familiar. Familiar enough that, when the woman first stepped onto the bus at Maple and 14th three weeks ago, he knew something was different.
By uzair hadi4 months ago in Fiction
The Two-Second Loneliness Metric. Runner-Up in They Shouldn’t Have Come Here Challenge.
It was an unwritten rule that personal shadows must be masked by makeup, and libidos governed by a click. Behind her fingers, she concealed the cleft of her mouth and a pained smile, remembering the morning's obligatory compliments while she tracked the data on her dual screens. The midday sun struck her two front teeth at an angle, making them gleam like a pair of fresh ivory piano keys, perfectly flushed against the gum. Beyond the office glass, the May warmth stirred, caterpillars crawled, and the spring blossoms surrendered to veined verdure. The market was shifting, and the hour no longer belonged to her.
By Caitlin Charlton4 months ago in Fiction
New World
My feet hit the dirt trail hard, and I pitched forward down the slope, careening wildly through the trees. By the time I regained my balance, I had to scoot back from the edge of the cliff, crouching against the mountainside to catch my breath. A wide valley stretched out before me, the bottom covered by a shining lake.
By Phoenixica244 months ago in Fiction
The Wrong Number
It was a quiet evening in the city. Dipak sat near the window of his rented apartment, waiting impatiently for an important parcel that still hadn’t arrived. He had work early the next morning, and the package contained documents he desperately needed for his startup proposal.
By Roshan Chauhan4 months ago in Fiction
Branded
Brief Intro This is sort of influenced by the videos and songs above. Tesco invading Denmark is satire but is becoming closer to reality. This is what might happen in globalization reaches one possible conclusion and brands buy out governments and take over countries. Let's face it many politicians are owned by corporations and "brands".
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 4 months ago in Fiction
H.O.A.. Runner-Up in They Shouldn’t Have Come Here Challenge.
Moving wasn't Gary's idea, but there were worse neighborhoods to live in. That's what he thought when Sal steered the U-Haul down Ambrosia Lane: the cul-de-sac that was now their home. Every squeaky-clean, butter yellow house was newly built, surrounded by emerald green lawns and handsome white picket fences. Flowers waved hello to him from boxes on every front-facing window, their petals dancing in the warm summer breeze.
By Natalie Gray4 months ago in Fiction
True Story
It was not aliens. I know saying that first does me no favours. But once a man says aliens, the story is over. People stop listening to the parts that are true. They stop asking what season it was, what the house smelled like, what the dog did, whether the porch light was on, whether there was a June bug dead in the glass or still alive, knocking itself stupid against the bulb.
By Patrick Gadoury4 months ago in Fiction
