Everyone arranged themselves in a wide circle so they could see the old man in the center. He was tall, thin, pale, almost disappearing in the overstuffed chair, but with a weak smile as he gazed around the room at all his family with all their worried faces ( Read more... )

I do not work for you, sir. I work for your store. I work for the department heads, who need to know their price changes, and what a case price is for a 25 lb bag of flour. I work for the customers, so they know how much each and every item in the store costs, and what is on sale. I work to keep this place afloat after you chased off one of your ( Read more... )

-or- Counter, Intuitive

The first word is meant to have three letters. Then there will be a period- the only one to grace the page- after all, it is the only time it appears in the string of numbers. The next word will have one letter. The next, four. The tenth syllable finishes the word inebriate and the first line ( Read more... )

Eve. A cusp. I, tarot inebriate ( Read more... )

-or- The Curse on the House of Candry

Marianne Candry was fifty-four and red. Paper trembled and crinkled between her fingers as she read the letter penned by her late husband eighteen years prior. If Edward lives past his thirty-seventh birthday, send flowers to Miss Mary Throm, and rejoice for the Curse on the House of Candry has been lifted! ( Read more... )

-or- The Nowhere

“Nothing ever happens here.”

Nadine gazed over the rolling hills, watching as the gentle wind rippled the tall grass, causing it to change colors in the sun from yellow to green to purple and back. There was no sign that Man had ever touched this land. Far away from the bustling streets of the City, the landscape seemed less like ( Read more... )

-or- Casseroles en Folie

She pulled out the photo album, smiling to herself. What she looked for was only on the second page. There, surrounded by pictures of purple peppers, three kinds of mushroom, and innumerable cheeses- the very image of the French marketplace- was a simple business card.

Les Casseroles en Folie - Crêperie Bretonne

“I'm going to ( Read more... )

-or- The Epic of the Spiders

Tears streamed down my face as I stood in my doorway, paralyzed in fear. My only point of egress was blocked by the large black monster. There were the emergency windows of course, but given the circumstances, it didn't seem like any better an option.

The problem had started a couple weeks prior when I noticed one of ( Read more... )

-or- This is where I Live

This is where I live. It is a small town in Southeast Iowa, surrounded on all sides by gently rolling hills of cows and corn. At first glance it looks like any typical town in the region: a quaint city square with a main road dotted with typical chain stores such as Wal-Mart, Hy-vee, tractor and auto supply stores, and a ( Read more... )

-or- Monoliths

Nobody knows why they exist, these monoliths. Sure there are stories, half-remembered histories, facts to fill in the gaps of disbelief, but only the rocks hold the true memory of it all. Whether they were carved into perfect brick and stacked and designed to form the golden pyramids of Egypt or their cousins in the jungles; or those ( Read more... )