fiction
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This was my entry in the Whimsy microfiction contest for July. Whimsy invites writers to create a story exploring a whim and including an object. For this one, my whim was The Cryptid Conundrum. My object was a pepper grinder. Enjoy! *** “Fresh ground pepper?” X1’s tentacles clapped in delight. “Yes, please!” X2 chimed in…
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“Oh, he’s in there, all right,” Harry whispered to his best friend, Jimmy, as they huddled in the bushes, peering out between spiky twigs at the building across the street. “He’s in there, and he’s got another one.” Jimmy shifted impatiently, his knees aching from kneeling on the ground for so long. “No way it’s…
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Silent tears rolled down the boy’s face. His father laid one hand on the boy’s shoulder, gentle but firm, the other pointing into the distance. “Where do I go?” the boy asked softly. “Where we all must go. The journey is long and dangerous. But you are ready.” “Why must I go alone?” “We are…
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Billy stood over his sister’s crib where the infant lay crying in wet, choked sobs, the ugly red bruises on her face and arms darkening before his very eyes. He slowly reached down and wiped the tears glistening on the baby’s swollen face with the tip of his finger. “Billy!” His mother grabbed the boy…
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Chloe had a special notification tone just for him. She rarely bothered even looking at her phone unless she heard that special sound. That morning, she grabbed the phone eagerly when the sound pulled her from a restless sleep haunted by strange voices calling out to her from the darkness. See you tonight – be…