Part Three — This story is part of a series — please click here for Part One. After the apparition that calls himself “Apollo” disappeared, I was alone with my thoughts. Maybe the apparition was some kind of mirage. Or maybe I was dehydrated and started seeing and hearing things. Either way, my…

Flash fiction — The streets were crowded as everyone looked up. “There he is!” said Emily, a young girl sitting on her father’s shoulders. The crowd gaped, as Fernando, the blind funambulist, toed the thin cable stretched between the city’s two tallest buildings. Wearing a blue and white marinière, along with black gymnast’s…

Flash fiction — Rain pelted against the apartment window. Sarah’s eyebrows came together as she shot daggers at me on her way from the laundry to the kitchen. “Did I do something wrong?” I asked, sitting on the couch in my tattered blue bathrobe with the TV remote in hand. But there was…

Flash fiction — This is not your usual story about boy meets girl, they fall in love, and they live happily ever after. No. Far from it. The boy’s name was Sasha. The girl’s name was Claudia. Sasha’s parents moved to the same apartment building as Claudia’s during one of the hottest summers…

Short fiction — It was going to be a long flight. I’d been on my feet for nearly a month straight on a work assignment, with little to no sleep in between. But finally, it had come to an end and I was on my way home. As I boarded the midnight plane…

Flash fiction — When they said it was going to be windy, they weren’t kidding. The plane landed early in the morning. Cindy and I disembarked, collected our bags, and made our way from the airport to the hotel overlooking one of the main beaches, not far from the town center. As soon…

A flash of fiction — Mayor Rogers stepped up to the podium to address his citizens. “Ladies, gentlemen, and others, welcome to our annual general meeting.” The mayor adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. …

A short story — When I arrived at the bar, Art was already there. He was sitting at a table in the far corner, looking intently out the window. It’d been a while since I’d last seen him—maybe seven or eight months or so—but he looked like the same old Art. He wore a…

Flash fiction — It was love at first sound. We were the only two left in the waiting room of the doctor’s clinic. The receptionist had gone home early, and it was as quiet as an empty concert hall. Quiet, that is, until a peculiar sound reverberated around the room. “Pardon?” I said…

Part three — with a zebra — Oliver was in agony. As a wildlife photographer on assignment in Southern Africa, he thought his luck had finally come in. He had been hiding in the veldt since dawn, waiting for the zebras to arrive at their watering hole. And they finally did arrive. Oliver was covered in mud…

Part one — with a pumpkin — Sarah and Sam met by pure accident. At the fresh produce section of the supermarket. Sam was on his way home from work on a Friday afternoon. He’d been hankering for some of his grandma’s spicy pumpkin soup. But the thing was, there was only one pumpkin left. Eyeing off…

Part One — I woke up on a secluded island. I don’t know how I got there, or how long I’d been there, but all I knew is that it was enormous. It would take me at least a day to walk from one end of the island to the other. And it…

A story for the season — I had no idea how my cousin Lisa was going to handle the searing Australian summer heat. …

Flash fiction — Stella had always been a gifted cook. Her friends and family would often remark on her natural ability to whip up a meal that was both delicious and perfect for any occasion. But it was her huckleberry sandwiches that Stella became truly known for. People would come from all over…

Flash fiction — Bartholomew Ballard was one of the King’s many gardeners, but he wanted to be a bard. The other gardeners sometimes got annoyed at him for turning everything into a poem. “How is that strawberry patch you’re tending to?” asked the head gardener. But in reply, Bartholomew just broke into verse: …

Flash fiction — There was only one thing left to do. But we’ll get to that in a minute; first I need to give you the backstory so you’re not left in the dark. I met her at the library. I was writing my final paper for med school on blood coagulation before…

A story from out of this world — New Yorkers woke to an alien spaceship in the middle of Central Park. Several people were around to see it, but no one seemed interested. They were all too busy looking at their smartphones while making their way somewhere else. The craft was exactly what you’d imagine: about the size…

Swiftly through the night —

A war beneath the waves — Five feet from the ocean floor, we laid in wait. Listening. I could feel the crew holding their breath. An armada of destroyers sailed overhead — looking for us. The sonar operator picked up multiple sweeping signals. They couldn’t locate our position, but they were angry. …

My camelid companion — GiaB prompt #20 animalia — Sharp shards of sand nipped at my face. I tightened the scarf around my head and neck and sat next to Camille. She was already laying down. The warm desert wind grew stronger as the sandstorm approached. I rechecked the saddlebags to make sure they were secure. Protect the product. …