Categotry Archives: Friday Fictioneers
Three Chairs
“Grandma, what’s the scariest thing you’ve ever seen?” He curled up closer as the two watched a vampire movie. “Three chairs.” “Whaaat?! That’s not right. Tell me the truth.” “Oh, no, it wasn’t the chairs themselves. It was what they meant. I went to a café with three of my closest friends, but the café was attacked by terrorists. They told us they would kill anyone who didn’t sit down. There were only three chairs.”
Pictures of a Descent
Martin squinted through the camera, checking the auto focus and framing, even through it was all futile. There wasn’t a single bird to be seen on the lake today. Not one. A couple hundred years ago there would have been thousands of ducks on their annual migration. Imagine it! The grace, freedom, and flurry of wings all around. When Martin tried to imagine it, he always thought of a puzzle with half the pieces gone. No big picture. He took […]
Workshop
“Mom. Hey, Mom. Look what I made. It’s for school. Everything is laid out just right. And it looks good, too.” Fred ran to the kitchen to get his mother. “I’m busy.” “I’d bring it in to you, but the glue is still wet and things will fall off. Come on, come on, come on. You’re only doing dishes anyway.” “All right.” She dried her hands on a dish towel, then followed him. “Do you see it? Do you see […]
Empty Studio
“Take care of it.” Uncle John handed Bruce the key. “I’ve got something to do.” Bruce didn’t try to argue. He already knew his uncle only put up with him because he’d do whatever he was told. Today it was taking a keyboard back from someone who owed him money. But which one? The room was full of them. “Hey! What’s this kid doing here?” Some guy shouted from the door. “I’m taking care of it,” Bruce said. He might […]
A Simple Mistake
“Please. Can’t I have another one? Please, please, please.” Alicia skipped along backwards through the empty fairgrounds so she could face Liam. “There is a season for all things. The time of celebration and the ease and tranquility of Summer is behind us. We are now facing the Day of the Dead and the brutal fall of that bitter, cold substance called snow. It is best to put our dreams behind us,” said Liam. “But I missed out! I dropped […]
pousse-café
“Bartender, give me your best drink.” Dicky found a stool in the empty bar. “You seem to have had enough to drink already.” “I’m not leaving here until I get your best.” “I’ll make you a pousse-café, but for each layer you have to tell me something about yourself.” So Dicky told him about his day; about his headache in the morning and first can of beer, about tripping over his chair at work, about out-drinking everyone from the office, […]
The Old Ways
Lilith walked the salt fields, testing each step with her cane. The young ones thought she did it because it was an old tradition. Tradition? What rot. When she first came to this planet with the colonizing expedition from Earth the land had been far less stable. Too many of her fellow colonists had died when the salt flats gave under them unexpectedly. They’d done a lot to stabilize the land, just as they’d done to make the atmosphere breathable. […]
Through The Glass Darkly
“These old houses are such a pain,” said Jane. “Just look at how warped this mirror is. I’ve been trying to do my makeup for an hour now. Not only does my reflection look strange, it jumps and moves when I’m hardly even breathing. And it’s so dark! What kind of silver did they use on it? Really, Marge, you should replace it immediately.” “Um…. Jane? Are you talking about that?” Marge pointed. “Yes, of course. The mirror.” “That’s not […]
Roasted
Liam, Alicia, and Sally sat around the campfire, each with a marshmallow on a stick. “Do you see faces in the flames? I see faces,” Alicia said. “I just see fire.” Sally gave her marshmallow a practiced turn. “I see the burning of the soul on a bitter and parched plain while the darkness of a yawning separation strangles a man’s words before they can be born. I see generation after generation of men struggling through a short life, never […]
Squish
“Nature! I love it.” Alicia ran into the grass in the side yard with her arms spread wide and a huge grin. She did a pirouette. “You can have it,” her friend Sally grumbled. She was tired of hearing her city-girl friend go on about every little thing. “You’re just spoiled because you can be out in the Great Outdoors every day.” “I wouldn’t step there if I were you. Or at least go back and put your shoes on.” […]
At the End of the World
It would be there, right where he left it. Everything else in the world may have turned upside down since the virus escaped from the lab, but his truck would be safe. He’d left it where the zombie’s had never appeared. No matter how much his lab partners teased, he’d always kept the gas tank full, a week’s rations in the back, and copies of the keys to every place he might want to go. Down to his last ounce […]
A Conversation on an Airplane
“Don’t tell anyone, but I’m afraid of flying. It’s true.” Jane nodded to the over weight woman in the seat beside her. “That’s why I wanted the seat by the aisle.” “The aisle? If we crash, will that make a difference?” “No, no. I don’t think so. But as long as I don’t look out the window I’m fine.” “Oh. I see. It’s the take off that gets to me. I’m always sure we won’t really get off the ground. […]
It’s Like Riding a Bicycle. You Never Forget.
“Need a fork?” Jane smirked. She already had her chopsticks out, though she hadn’t scooped up any of the stir-fry yet. “No! No, I’m good.” Marge took her chopstick out of the little restaurant wrapper and tried to remember how you hold them. “I bet you can’t do this.” Jane reached out with her chopsticks, aiming at a pop bottle. She had almost lifted it when the bottle fell over, sending a cascade of bubbles over the table, and one […]
Losing His Head
At the Bitterroot Mercantile in Darby, Montana, the clientele expect a certain ambiance. It isn’t enough that there are trophies on the wall. The animal heads must come from something the owner hunted and have a story to go with it. Unluckily for Ken, he’d only ever bagged one animal and that had been more traffic accident than safari. Still, he dutifully hung the ram’s head on his wall and claimed a kinship with Earnest Hemingway right up until the […]
Stormy
When the tornado warning alarms went off, two young men, brothers, spurned the basement in favor of watching the storm. Dark and roiling clouds obliterated the sky, but on land they found mostly wind. There wasn’t much to see. “Hey look. Doesn’t that cloud remind you of someone?” “Yeah, it’s just like what mom’s face would look like if she knew we were out here.” “That one looks like a horse.” The younger of the two pointed to the sky. […]
