Tag: short story
six
Goblin: "sigh…" Me: continues working Goblin: more dramatically "Sigh…" Me: I'm going to regret asking "Yes, Lizzy?" Goblin: "No, it's nothing sigh" Me: "Okay then" Goblin: "SIGH" Me: … "What is it, Lizzy?" Goblin: "This is just goodbye" Me: "Goodbye? Are you going somewhere?" Goblin: "My time is up. I am not long for this world. Everything around me… grows dark. I am simply unable to go on…" Me: "Dinner's not for another hour and a half" Goblin: "I now shuffle off this mortal coil" flops dramatically to the ground, weakly saying "good… bye…" Me: "Okay, well I generally appreciate the time we had together." Goblin: springs into my lap and climbs up to look me in the face "I said Goodbye!" Me: "You're still not getting fed."
five
Me: “Wake up, I need to get up.” Goblin: “No.” Me: “But I need to pee.” Goblin: “Sucks to be you, I’m comfortable.” Me: “Lizzy!” Goblin: “snore” Me: “You just said the word ‘snore’. You’re not actually sleeping… What if I feed you? It’s almost wet food time?” Goblin: “omg, why are you still on the couch?! I’m starving!” waits next to half full bowl of kibble
four
Goblin: I’m bored. Me: Bored?! I just bought you new toys! Goblin: Yeah, but I beat those games already. Me: Gam… takes a deep breath One of them is a ball that rolls around and waves a tail when you interact with it. You’re supposed to chase it! Goblin: It’s not real though. It’s too predictable. I need the thrill of the hunt, the chase, like my mighty ancestors before me! Me: Yeah, your ancestor was a stray named Kitty Gaga, and your birth name was Husky. I don’t know how mighty… Goblin: What’s up here? OMG, you’ve been holding out on me! This is amazing! And exactly what I was looking for! Me: Ugh, you know you’re not allowed on the table! Goblin: DIE! Pounces dramatically on cloth napkin Me: Sigh
The First Reading: A short story
The first chapter of a short story I’m writting. I’ll post subseqent chapters as they are available.
The Name He Refused
A Short Story Inspired by John 1:19-20 The questions began before sunrise. Ethan Cole had grown accustomed to people stopping him after his community outreach events. Some wanted advice. Others wanted encouragement. A few simply wanted someone to listen. But lately, the attention had changed. Videos of Ethan helping homeless families had spread online. A...
The Line No One Could Cross
A Short Story Inspired by Job 1:12 The storm rolled into Cedar Ridge just before sunset. Dark clouds stacked themselves across the Missouri sky, and the wind bent the tops of the oak trees lining the highway. Most people hurried indoors, but Daniel Mercer remained on the roof of the old community center, trying to...
The Highway South
A Short Story Inspired by Matthew 2:14-15 The call came at 2:13 in the morning. Elias Mercer woke to the shrill vibration of his phone against the nightstand. For several seconds he stared into the darkness of the apartment, disoriented by the hour and the strange silence that filled the room. Beside him, his wife...
The Lights Above Mercer Street
A Short Story Inspired by Genesis 1:14-15 The power went out just after midnight. At first the city resisted the darkness. Backup signs flickered red over alley doors. Emergency lights glowed dimly in apartment stairwells. Car headlights crawled through intersections like uncertain insects. But one by one the smaller lights surrendered, and before long the...
The Last Bus Out of Winter
A Short Story Inspired by Matthew 2:13 The snow had been falling since late afternoon, thick enough now to bury the edges of the sidewalks and soften the hard outlines of the city. Nathan Reed stood beneath the flickering shelter light on Walnut Avenue with his collar raised high against the wind. Across the street,...
The Last Call Before Departure
A Short Story Inspired by Luke 9:61 Ethan Reeves stared at the glowing departure board while the rain pressed against the airport windows like restless fingers. Flights blinked in red and white across the screen, cities appearing and disappearing in an endless rhythm of leaving. Dallas. Seattle. Atlanta. Denver. Chicago — Boarding Soon. He tightened...
DEPTHS
Light shines between cracks in the masonry. The tunnels had flourished with new life. There was talk spreading among the kingdoms that the tomb that had swallowed so many willing souls had been transformed into a lush environment ripe with new flora and fauna. It had been dismissed as talk until they arrived and descended down into the depths. Leaves brushed against the stones like gentle whispers beckoning you further. Moss padded the walls and floors again. Multicolored and wondrous flowers do...
DUNGEON
The air is damp and fetid. There has been no light for days. Weeks maybe at this point. Every so often, you feel the soft give of moss under your boots. There would be no rescue from this place. Either you would find your way out of this consuming darkness, or your bones would be crunched underfoot years and years later as you had done with the remains of others who had made the same choice you did. Why had you come to this place? What purpose? You could not explain, and now as your food was gon...
Get Minesweeper back on your PC and other stuff I wrote this week
It's been over a decade since Microsoft removed Minesweeper from Windows. If you don't go a single day without thinking about this loss you might want to read How to get Minesweeper and seven other classic games back in Windows 11 over at Lifehacker. Here's a few other things I published in the last week....