Story: 112
Words: 26

Title: Storm Brewing

Waiting for the rain. No wind blowing right now. Quiet. Waiting. Anticipating. Perhaps the noise and downpour of the storm will trade peace for this anxiety.

Story: 111
Words: 92

Title: Embarrassing Moment

Henry played second chair clarinet in the high school band. Suddenly, one of the pads on his clarinet fell off and landed by his right foot. He bent down to get it and when rising hit the music stand with his head. The solo clarinetist stopped playing and the stand fell forward onto the head of the solo flutist who also stopped playing. Henry looked at the conductor with “sorry” on his lips and he gave him a look that could have melted a brass statue. It’s a bitch being a teenager.

Story: 110
Words: 29

Title: Bird Shoot

The lake was still and blue as he rowed along the shore. He approached the blue heron slowly with camera in hand. Click and the heron was his forever.

Story: 109
Words: 71

Title: Apple

She got an apple from the refrigerator, washed it with a little soap, and rinsed it in cold water. She dried it and took a big bite of its sweet crunchiness. The phone rang and she lay the apple on the counter. A roach scurried from its dark hiding place and took a bite of the apple from where she had eaten. It ran at her approach waiting for another opportunity.

Story: 108
Words: 82

Title: Life Goes On

It’s morning and the birds are announcing their pleasure with the warm rays of the sun. Soon the ground will warm and life there will start moving in its predestined action to replicate itself.

“I want a baby,” she said over breakfast.
“Are you sure we’re ready?” he questioned.
She ate some more egg and mumbled, “I have never been more ready.”
“Can we afford it?” he asked.
“We can make it work, don’t you think?” she said.
He felt utterly helpless.

Story: 107
Words: 67

Title: Awakened

I awoke in the night hearing the sound of someone banging a cymbal. My sleepy confusion kept me from action, but in time I rolled out of bed and started looking out windows for the source of the noise. It was a family of raccoons playing with the garbage cans. Feeling satisfied and safe, I went back to bed and dreamt of my noisy childhood birthday parties.

Story: 106
Words: 25

Title: The Problem with Politics

“I’m confused,” he said.
“About what?” she asked.
“About politicians out for themselves. Whatever happened to country first?” he asked.
“Entitlement killed it,” she exclaimed.

Story: 105
Words: 74

Title: The Lake

That night, after the birds had quieted down and the crickets had taken their place, he walked to the edge of the lake. There were way too many stars for his citified mind to take in so he imagined they were just holes punched into the night sky. The moon surprised him as it peaked over the mountain causing him to sit down hard on a rock. He had had way too many beers.

Story: 104
Words: 38

Title: Taco

I bit into the crisp taco. Crunch! Grease dripped out of the bottom and bits of taco shell flew everywhere. The first bit of heat hit my tongue; I inhaled its fiery essence; and savored the vibrant flavors.

Story: 103
Words: 71

Title: Yesterday

He had fifty cents in his pocket as he walked to the corner store and went directly to the comics arrayed in the window. This was the best kind of day. He would spend what seemed like hours choosing the exact comic book. Would he choose Superman, The Shadow, or perhaps the one about alien creatures? He considered them all very carefully, making sure he had change left for penny candy.

Story: 102
Words: 83

Title: Bike Ride

He was traveling West on the bike trail enjoying the Spring air and the trees with their new leaves. It was as if the power of his legs was going directly into the Earth and propelling him along. Suddenly, he felt an eye looking at him on his left. Just as he dismissed it, another eye on his right. He waited for the next one, slowed and when it appeared he slammed on his brakes, looking back. There was nothing there but disappointment.

Story: 102
Words: 48

Title: The Wind

He watched a leaf being blown across the street by the wind. A car came by and sent it off in a whole new direction. Life, he thought, is like that. Just when you start enjoying the wind you discover you’re not in control. You gotta love it.

Story: 101
Words: 83

Title: Cliff Phobia

Cliffs; he hated cliffs. When he looked over the edge his guts felt like they would twist into knots and tie him into a pretzel. But here he was with his new girlfriend in Yosemite at the top of Glacier Point at eye level with those towering granite monoliths. He stared at Half Dome and suddenly a large bird flew buy and grabbed his attention. “Oh, shit,” he said realizing he had looked down. He hurled over the fence. She took his hand.

Story: 100
Words: 92

Title: Water Power

He arose before sunrise and set off through the jungle. The humidity was building as the first rays of the sun hit the canopy of trees above him. The route he took was his alone, not one made by others over many years. Soon he could hear the magnificent roar of the waterfall. He left the jungle and sat at the top of the falls. The sun illuminated the mist and created a rainbow in front of him. He took in its energy and knew that this would be a strong day.

Story: 99
Words: 36

Title: A Spicy Tale

Ginger thought the stir fry was too spicy. She had asked Herb to tone it down but he found it difficult to curry to her demands. A hot argument ensued that took some time to resolve.

Story: 98
Words: 54

Title: Raccoon Night

The moon was a thin crescent that allowed raccoon to hide unnoticed behind a fallen tree. He watched the thin shadows move slowly across the forest floor. Soon it would be time for the family to go on their nightly route to find food. He heard their noisy kits approaching and led the way.

Story: 97
Words: 51

Title: Strike Three and You’re Food

“The jury finds you guilty,” said the judge, “and this is your third strike. As required by law you will be remanded to the State Chef to be prepared and served at a dinner attended by your victim’s family and friends. They have requested barbecued ribs and steaks from the thigh.”

Story: 96
Words: 71

Title: More Head Cold

This dull ache in my head, my nose stuffed with 500 elephants, and throat coated with inches of mucus produced by lungs filled with gallons of fluid. I tried to will it away and it laughed at me and made me cough until the top of my head exploded onto the ceiling. Be gone, wretched cold! Let thy blight be banished into oblivion. Maybe tomorrow the doc will prescribe an antibiotic.

Story: 95
Words: 23

Title: Miscommunication

Turn left; keep going; now right; OK, at the next light turn right.

You’re a good navigator.

Navigator? I’m playing a video game.

Story: 94
Words: 41

Title: Head Cold

It’s hard to write with a head cold. I can just barely see the monitor through my bleary eyes. And my cough causes my fingers to jump and press wong kees. I will need to sterilize the keyboard before long-yuck.

Story: 93
Words: 48

Title: Extraterrestrial Life

We were too deep in the sun’s gravity well to go inter-dimensional but we still clicked along fast enough to make Titan in three days. A new life form had just been discovered in a warm subterranean layer of gaseous methane. We beat the Humans to this one.

Story: 92
Words: 37

Title: Reflections

He watched the boat go by as he had hundreds of times. He thought about those on board and believed he could eaves drop on their thoughts. He heard only the reflections of his own uneventful life.

Story: 91
Words: 20

Title: Rapid Conversation

Look.
Where?
There.
What?
Rain.
Oh.
Look.
Where?
There.
What?
Rainbow.
Oh.
Come.
Where?
There.
What?
House.
Why?
Sex.
Oooh!

Story: 90
Words: 96

Title: Opportunity

I had been chasing quartz all day when my truck broke down north of Mojave. I tinkered with it until dusk led into night. I kept Orion to my right and walked generally toward Sagittarius. Over the ridge I could see the dim lights of Randsburg, a town so small that it could only produce a glow around the rocks. In the desert, at night, any human made light is welcome. I took comfort in the arms of the Joshua trees silhouetted against the stars and thought about sharing a cold beer at the town saloon.

Story: 89
Words: 78

Title: Last Days

“Hello, is anybody out there?” came the voice over the shortwave receiver. We had been listening for days and this was the first transmission we picked up. We couldn’t transmit since we only had a receiver and no way to know where the voice was coming from. Soon the batteries would be dead and with them all contact with what was left of humanity.

We looked at each other and said to the receiver, “Hello, we’re still alive.”

Story: 88
Words: 19

Title: Communication Two

He listened to the birds singing to him. Somewhere in his unconscious he understood their song and felt blessed.

Story: 87
Words: 12

Title: Communication

He sang to the birds. They cocked their heads and sang back.

Story: 86
Words: 91

Title: Summer Sunset

We walked by the river at dusk, a solitary couple following the river’s flow. The sun’s final rays matched the last heat of the summer day and felt comforting, protective.

I love the river at this time of day, don’t you?

Yeah. I love the quiet, too.

I feel so close to you, like we could merge with the day and it would become forever.

The sun let go its hold on the day and the dark took its place quickly. And all around eyes began to notice their passionate embrace.

Story: 85
Words: 58

Title: Fishing

The sun was setting over the delta this summer evening and our fishing poles hung limp in our hands.

Fish aren’t biting tonight.

Nope.

Shoot me a Coors, will’ya.

I popped the lid and took a slurping sip, watching the sun as it took its last look at us.

Do the fish know about the sun, I thought?

Story: 84
Words: 27

Title: Fox

The fox sat, looking over the spring meadow. It had just eaten and wasn’t hungry. It heard the brook and felt the soft wind in its fur.

Story: 83
Words: 30

Title: Together

We walked in the rain, hand-in-hand, not caring if we got wet. There was no need to speak to share the experience because, after fifty years, we felt as one.