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Weekly Contest #284
LOVE CONQUERS ALL The elegant swan ice sculpture sat on the circular table in the great hall where it had presided for the past few hours as the wedding reception proceeded. Small droplets started dripping from its beak under the dozens of chandeliers that lit the ballroom, their crystal prisms shimmering. Pristine white tablecloths covered each table, adorned with gleaming china, elegant crystal, and a large and confusing array of cutlery. Dead centre of each table was a centerpiece with cream-coloured roses, ivy, and tall stately ca...
Weekly Contest #283
KYLE’S CHRISTMAS Kyle slammed the car door and balanced a pile of gifts in his arms. He walked carefully up the snow-covered walkway. That’s strange, he thought. Dad was usually on top of chores like that. But Dad was getting older now and since his little stroke a few months ago he was a lot more fragile than he had been. I really should come by more often and do more things for the folks, thought Kyle. He was only across town, a ten or fifteen-minute drive at best and Mum had fallen last week on the ice. She had hit her head b...
Weekly Contest #282
A CHANGE OF SCENERY I jumped a little as the steel door clanged closed behind me. I stood frozen stiff for a few moments. It was as if time stood still. The grass seemed greener, the sky a more vivid shade of blue, and even the birds in the nearby trees sang sweeter than I had heard them sing in years. I listened with intensity. A sense of peace descended on me, and fear that had resided in me for years fled. Possibilities seemed endless. I finally understood the phrase, “Hope springs eternal.” Well, maybe I didn’t fully understand it ...
Weekly Contest #280
The Debt. Kat was drenched in sweat. Not the sweet sweat that followed a fast-paced jog around the local high school track or the sweat that accompanied a mattress marathon; but that sweat that came with intense terror. Kat could smell the stench of her sweat and feel droplets forming on her brow. She had heard about hematohidrosis, the condition where people in a major crisis actually sweat blood due to intense stress; she didn’t know if this was an accurate summation or just hearsay, but if ever there was a time to sweat blood,...
Weekly Contest #279
Megan crawled her way up to the beach, her fingers clawing into the sand, her feet digging in to give her purchase in the crashing waves. She was gasping for air and choking on all the salt water she had swallowed. When she felt solid ground beneath her, her arms gave out and she collapsed onto the sandy beach. She started choking again and soon threw up all the salt water that she had swallowed. She lay there for long minutes as her heart stopped pounding and her mind started to grasp the fact that she had made it to the beach. She ha...
Weekly Contest #278
DEATHBED CONFESSION Bill Mason gasped for air. His hand reached feebly for the oxygen mask lying beside him on the pillow. He was so weak, he could barely grasp it. He fumbled as he tried to attach the elastic strap around his head, and ultimately found it easier just to hold it in his hand and press the cup to his face. He knew his time on earth was short. Any day now, maybe even less, he would draw his last breath and give up the ghost so to speak. He had been given the option of staying in the hospital under the care of the medical ...
Weekly Contest #277
THE WAYS OF THE WICKED The staff room was almost empty, a few teachers were using their prep time to get some lesson planning finished. Ivy Thornton crossed the threshold and let out a loud sigh. “Hey there,” called out Mark McGuire, “How's it going?” He took a closer look at Ivy. “You look… stressed.” “Stressed isn't the word for it. Overwhelmed! Like I’m in a sinking ship. Like I’m going to have a nervous breakdown. Like I will be on stress leave by the end of the semester or maybe by the end of the month. Ivy gave a nervous ...
Weekly Contest #276
THE BLIND DATE I applied the lipstick with care and precision. I wanted to look my best tonight. I hadn’t been on a date for a long time. It wasn't easy to start dating again after my divorce. I was feeling lost, raw, and vulnerable, and my trust in men was at an all-time low. But my friends and co-workers encouraged me to get a babysitter for my nine-month-old son and two-year-old daughter, and actually have some adult time in my life. I spent my days working with children and my nights and weekends as the sole support and careg...
Weekly Contest #275
RUNNING OUT OF TIME I stared out the cell window. My hands grasped the cold iron bars, and the rough metal dug into my palms. From my vantage point atop the scarred wooden stool, I could see the castle bailey which served as the market square, and beyond … the gallows. It was a typical Autumn morning, windy and gray. I saw my cousin swaying in the wind, suspended from the gallows. An hour before, I heard his last pitiful pleas as they placed the noose around his neck and he begged for his life. All he received for his plea ...
Weekly Contest #274
WHEEL OF MISFORTUNE I’m a bit of a control freak. There! I’ve said it, owned up to it, confessed it, and they always say that confession is good for the soul. I’m also a very analytical person and for a long time, ney, most of my life, I have long analyzed why I am such a control freak. It has to do with fear. Intense, utterly unrestrained, uncontrollable … fear. I remember the day, the fateful day, when for the first time and the last time in my life, thus far, I lost all semblance of control. The fear ran so deep that day, that ev...
Weekly Contest #273
THE SPANISH GALLEON “Okay! Okay!” Riley looked around nervously, making sure the coast was clear. “Don’t tell anyone! You have to promise me.” “Dude,” said Trent, rolling his eyes. “What are you looking around for? We are in the boonies. There probably isn’t a living soul around here for twenty clicks.” “Yeah, well you can never be too careful.” Trent rolled his eyes again. “Got it! What's up? What’s the big deal?” “You have to promise,” stressed Riley. “What? Are we like ten years old or something? Do you want me to pink...
Weekly Contest #272
Danelle Forester ran along the forest floor, dodging low-hanging branches and roots that threatened to trip her with every step. It was dusk, twilight, that in-between shadowy time; halfway between daylight and darkness where shadows deepen and one's heart starts to palpitate just a little faster, for no apparent reason. As the Shadows grow longer, objects seem to merge, forming an endless sea of darkness. In Danelle's case, the dusk only compounded the issue. In the distance, she could hear the baying of the hounds, drawing ever close...
Weekly Contest #271
All my life, I felt like I didn’t belong. I always felt I must be a foundling, perhaps left in a basket on a doorstep in the middle of the night. A quick sharp rap at the door followed by running feet as someone dropped their unwanted load and beat a hasty retreat to nearby bushes or down some dark laneway. In my head, the scenario changed regularly. Sometimes I felt that the person who had abandoned me ran quickly away without ever looking back. At other times I felt that they may have hunkered down behind some bushes, watching and wa...
Weekly Contest #270
The smell of the tea filled the air, strong and pungent; just the way Mark, her husband liked it. He called himself a “Tea Connoisseur” and enjoyed experimenting with exotic blends and brews. Callie did a second check of the tea tray to ensure that everything was perfect. It had to be perfect. Antique teapot on the right side of the tray, the single matching china tea cup, and saucer just below. Check! Sugar and cream to the left of the teapot. Check! The small basket of scones wrapped in white linen, piping hot from the oven. Check! Callie ...
Weekly Contest #269
FOUND TREASURE “We’ve been walking for days. I think we are lost. I think we should turn back. We’ve already lost two sherpas.” “They are not sherpas,” corrected Reggie. “What are they then,” said Jake with sarcasm. “Oh please enlighten me, oh mighty brother?” “To begin with, Sherpas are Tibetan people from the Himalayas in Nepal. They act as guides for mountain climbers and hikers.” “Whatever! They are just our mules.” “You might be less condescending, more respectful, and more politically correct. We are not in Tibet, not even...
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