The bird’s wings scythed through the morning air imperiously as it locked its position over some ground prey, unseen, scuttling in the wildnerness below. The long arc of those wings; I had seen something like them before. An owl, perhaps, or a bird of prey, a falcon or harrier, a raptor. Was an owl aContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘Raptor’”
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100-Word Fiction: ‘Kora’
Kora of calabash, the bottle gourd lute, cowskin resonator, bridge and strings. Kumbengo riffs and birimintingo runs, across the wires of the dancing desert harp. Griot storytellers of Mali’s Mandinka, keepers of memory, ancient people of Sundiate Keita. Plucking notes that quiver into being, hardly heard above the arid air or the brushing of sandContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘Kora’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘If Just Who He Was’
We were trying to remember his name. Annie was finishing her wine and I had lit a cigarette; was wondering about brandy. I could hardly even picture him but Annie seemed to know. How could I forget? It was like seeing an old school photo and one of the pupils was blacked out in theContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘If Just Who He Was’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘So Early In the Year’
She came back inside at three, just as the light had started to fade fast. Andy was boiling the kettle. She kicked off her boots and stood them on the mat, took off her gloves and placed them on the ledge. No coat? You’ll catch cold, said Andy. It’s warm. You’re kidding? I’m in aContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘So Early In the Year’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘How Will We See?’
In the future we will see Everything in three dimensions. What? The robin whistling The mud underfoot The long journey home Hands in gloves The cheers at the bar The chiming bells The turning of a page The plans being made The mildness of the air The perfume of a fir tree The warmth ofContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘How Will We See?’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘This Waiting’
A feeling. Grips you how, if, you don’t know. No I cannot eat. She sits down, scrapes the chair across the floor. Time. The clock presses forward a dreaded minute. She should eat. Oh just to stop the thoughts. It won’t be over until it is. Hard as granite. Cold as metal. Steely stone. Bad.Continue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘This Waiting’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘The Surveyor’
The first we knew was when the surveyor came to the village with measuring equipment. And armed guards. Then the trucks and helpers came and a fence was built between our houses and the subsistence crops. They lifted the vegetables too early and threw them away. We villagers shouted and asked many questions as theyContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘The Surveyor’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘Three Candles’
* Late on in the evening – and a man walking somewhere, wrapped in his own world, humming a tune. The way that he moved, you could tell what he was like as a little boy. A big boy now with his puffer jacket and trainers. * * Coming back from the pub on aContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘Three Candles’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘Signs and Codes’
Exercise No. 1: Image: A fairytale castle. Words: This castle does not exist. Image: A townscape. Words: The city is at risk. Image: A man in a hat. Words: This picture is believed to have been taken in the past few weeks. Image: A man in a different hat. Words: Freedom. Image: A toy helicopter.Continue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘Signs and Codes’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘Until They are Gone’
Sssshhh, said Jackie, sssshhh, listen. Pete stopped still. Silence. Jackie beckoned. How brown the woods looked: the conifers dulled in the late afternoon light, the ground muddy after the rain. Jackie was pointing, his face contorted into an expression – half delight, half anguish. Pete shook his head and whispered: What? There! Listen! Silence. ThenContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘Until They are Gone’”
MW Bewick 