There is a way to construct a speech – to put words together, to make people smile or clap or think you’ve said something new or important. You get taught it at management seminars. You just use the same words everyone uses. Swap them around a bit. Don’t worry. Look confident. Don’t take risks. It’sContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘Vipera Berus’”
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100-Word Fiction: ‘Your Arms Around Me’
To have your arms around me again. Your arm around my shoulders, resting there a moment. So many things come to mind. The times we have embraced and all of the reasons. Yes, love. Of course, love. We do love. That arm of support. The arm that draws me near, into your reach, to yourContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘Your Arms Around Me’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘The Mountain Tigers’
They have been trailing us for years. We know that. In fact there is little we do not know about their activities because we see everything. They are clumsy. Sometimes when we watch them we pity them in their struggle for understanding. Their cameras and computers are a heavy load in rough terrain, while weContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘The Mountain Tigers’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘How Long I Walked’
Today, as they talked, I again took notes. The records will show I wrote: ‘[I] believe that if the P___ leadership adheres to continuous negotiations, despite the obstacles that are coming up on every side, and if it is serious and determined in its intention to advance towards peace, just as we are serious, thenContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘How Long I Walked’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘I.O.U.’
Aw c’mon, said Joe. Ye’ve got to be kidding me, it was years ago. We had a deal. Ye never said anything at the time. Yeah but Joe that’s just it: I never did say anything. You’ve just assumed something. I never promised anything. Joe shook his head: But Ian, ye just, I mean IContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘I.O.U.’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘The Mark’
It was too easy to suggest that no one knew the full story; that no one understood. But he did feel that was true. It was also too easy to condemn. No one knew his background. Probably no one cared. He earned little money. Where he had come from! Then there was his family, theContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘The Mark’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘If I Could Just…’
If I could just… Why were they looking so anxious? What were they trying to protect? Alaric knew. He knew! He tried again: If I could just… I think we need to look elsewhere, said one of the bosses. Yes, yes, said one of the acolytes. We need to show some ingenuity, be more convincing.Continue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘If I Could Just…’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘They Loved Him Once’
He was the sort of guy that, for some reason, even though he had at one time been immensely popular, and even though his sheer enthusiasm to do things differently and better had won him all kinds of support and a deep well of trust, could suddenly, spectacularly, lose his appeal. Certain actions (and perhapsContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘They Loved Him Once’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘The View From Here’
He was looking over the treetops, across the plains. The view from the roof was incredible. It was evening and everywhere was bathed with a brownish hue. He wanted to stay up there for ever. Let it rain; he didn’t care. The kids were asleep in the corner, covered by a blanket of plastic sheeting.Continue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘The View From Here’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘The Unexploded Bombs’
The parcel bombs did not explode. They were discovered on p7, right next to Tom Jones. They were defused with only fifteen lines headed ‘Crime’, buried beneath news of Carlos Acosta dancing and a powerboat accident (p6), teenage choristers (p5), loan sharks (p4) and a BBC sitcom (pp1-2). The bombs made no sound. They wereContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘The Unexploded Bombs’”