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Weekly Contest #130
Betty could have been a millionaire if she’d bet on the first words she would hear every time she returned home from work to the little walk-up apartment she shared with her mother.“What took you so long? You know I’ve been here by myself all day.”Never, “How was your day?”, "How are you feeling?" or, “Are you tired?”Betty had long since given up on responding. She’d hand her mother her cigarettes, and on a Friday, her paycheck, and go into the kitchen to make dinner. The old woman spent her days in the armchair by the window watching the ne...
Weekly Contest #129
Ben pulled on his boots, parka and gloves and headed outside. He paused on the deck to admire the view. Despite the cold, it appealed to him in a perverse way, suiting his mood. The pristine white snow was spread over the mountain like a soft cover, smoothing out the contours of the land. The car was just another mound of snow. The dark figures of trees stretched their slender limbs to the bruised purple sky. The moonlight was almost as bright as day. He headed to the shed behind the chalet where the firewood was stacked. He smiled wryl...
Weekly Contest #128
Lindsay, fumbling for her keys, was almost bowled over when the apartment door opened, and her roommate Jan stormed out and rushed downstairs. She called after Jan who ignored her. She heard the outer door slam downstairs. Entering the living room, she immediately sensed the tension in the atmosphere. Elvis the cat, was cowering behind the television, his favorite hiding place when scared. Laura and Ellie both appeared flustered and angry. “Can anyone tell me what’s going on around here?” Lindsay said, throwing her bookbag down and takin...
Weekly Contest #127
My mother’s voice sounded odd on the phone that evening. We live just round the corner from each other, but she’s good about giving me space and usually doesn’t get upset about anything. Tonight, she sounded worried.“Di, can you come over now?” she said. “It’s Mrs. McPhee. I can’t explain on the phone. Please. It’s urgent.”“Sure,” I said, staring at the phone. This was strange. Mrs. McPhee was my mother’s nosy old neighbor. I assumed it wasn’t a medical emergency or my mother would have called the ambulance“Mom, how can you stand her?” I had...
Weekly Contest #126
I don’t remember how many New Year’s Eves I have plugged my ears as they all shout “Happy New Year!”, blow paper trumpets, and start singing Auld Lang Syne off-key. Perhaps I could celebrate the Persian New Year in March, the Chinese New Year in February or the Jewish New Year in September instead of our New Year. I bet they don’t watch a smarmy celebrity counting down to midnight on the television while waiting for a stupid glass ball to drop at midnight in Times Square on December 31st. I’m a writer, not a party animal. My significant...
Weekly Contest #119
The condemned house crouches on the clifftop, hunkered low against the wind. It is a race between the local authority and the sea to see which will carry out the sentence. The water seethes below like a restless beast, swirling and eddying, worrying at the cliff walls. Chunks have already collapsed, leaving the top jutting out in places like a shelf. Inexorably the edge is inching closer and closer to the house. The local teenagers and tourists ignore the signs warning of danger on the cli...
Weekly Contest #118
Lindy jumped for joy as she saw Grace extricate her lanky frame from her little car. Grace was attempting to carry multiple bags, which she promptly scattered as she swept Lindy into a bear hug. “Still living up to your name, I see,” said Lindy, laughing. “Graceful as ever! Welcome, sister. So glad you could keep me company while Dave's away.” A stocky man with a buzz cut and ear protectors suddenly appeared in the garden next door. With military bearing, he began marching up and down the lawn, wieldin...
Weekly Contest #117
The flat was cozy and the music mellow. The colors of the Moroccan rugs, floor pillows, and prints on the wall glowed in the candlelight. Nellie got up to refill glasses. In her handwoven caftan, with a long ponytail, and little round specs, she looked like the hippy poet that she was. Sandra had had enough wine to relax. She had kicked off her designer heels and was happily stretched out with her long legs draped over the arm of the saggy couch, her perfect coiffure slightly tousled. Diane had overcome her initial ne...
Weekly Contest #116
The flickering light of the coachman's lantern barely pierced the darkness as Janey clambered down from the carriage. The gusting wind snatched at her hood as she tried to cover up against the driving rain. As the coach rumbled off into the night, she was relieved to see a sliver of light in the dark bulk of the house in front of her. “Don’t just stand there on a nasty night like this,” said a voice. “Come in so I can shut the door.” Janey was yanked out ...
Shortlisted for Contest #114 ⭐️
I meant well when I invited Melanie to our church’s Ladies’ Social Group. She and her husband Paul had moved in next door to us. He sold insurance which involved lots of travel. She worked online from home. Small-town rural life was alien to her, as she confided to me over the fence one day, and she was lonely. “It’s not that people are unfriendly,” she said to me when I invited her for coffee. “It’s just that the conversations feel like an interrogation. How long have we been married? Do we have children? ...
Weekly Contest #105
No disrespect to all the cleaners out there, but house cleaning wasn’t exactly my intended career path. Hey, life happens. It paid the bills while I got back on my feet. Most of my clients forgot my name. I was just the Merrie Maid girl to them, basically invisible. I exacted revenge by giving them all nicknames in my mind and fantasizing about their reactions if I were ever to write a book about all their quirks. For example, there was Ms. Hoarder. She had only accepted cleaning services out of fear of her daughter who had threatened h...
Weekly Contest #104
"Are you coming tonight?” trilled a voice. "We'll be starting shortly."Verity grimaced and held the phone away from her ear. She really did have to get the hang of this caller ID and let people like her neighbor Monica go to voice mail, although on second thoughts, that might prompt Monica to come round in person. She had almost given old Mr. Davis a heart attack last year by calling the police to check on him after he didn’t answer the phone or hear her knocking on his door. &...
Weekly Contest #103
The girls hustled off to the pub to celebrate Ruth’s engagement, more giddy than usual for a Friday afternoon. There was much laughter as Ruth waved her hand like an orchestra conductor and they pretended to be dazzled by her ring. They happily discussed wedding plans and listened to Ruth’s description of the little flat that her fiancé Jim was painting and decorating. Jim was a very ordinary young man, and the ring a modest design of diamond chips, but even the girls who secretly thought they could do a lot better envied Ruth’s opportunity ...
Weekly Contest #101
Kevin, full of beer-fueled bravado, had decided they should explore the abandoned cottage he had spotted from the trail. “Urban exploration, that’s what they call it,” he said. “There are guys who make a living filming this kind of stuff and putting it on YouTube.”Moira tried to talk him out of it. They had been longer in the pub for lunch than they planned, and she had no wish to be hiking in the dark. The hiking trail wound through high, brooding hills and dusk came early at this time of year. She had also noti...
Weekly Contest #100
As anyone could tell from the raucous laughter, the mimosas had been flowing freely at the ladies’ monthly Sunday potluck brunch. Bella broke off in the middle of the punchline of her joke about the bishop and the pole dancer as the doorbell rang. “That must be Phyllis,” said Lucille, the hostess. “I was beginning to worry. She’s never late.” Sure enough, when she opened the door, Phyllis was standing there clutching her signature quiche. She was trembling and seemed in danger o...
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