“If in doubt… leave it out. That’s what they say. They mean, if in doubt… abandon. Resist. Take your leave. Disengage. Only fight the battles you can win. History only remembers a winner. These are the maxims of success. It’s a money, time, success thing – a ratio of sorts. If there was a policyContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘If In Doubt’”
Tag Archives: short
100-Word Fiction: ‘Towards a New Year’
There are people here, but not many. An old man sighs a joke as his grandchildren try to raise a kite into the still air. On the grey banks of mud a wiry bird stands still, too tired to prod for worms with its thin beak. Reeds have been blackened by the winter across theContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘Towards a New Year’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘An Education’
The queue of kids had grown, their excitable faces turning into expressions of anguish as they waited. At a signal, each stepped forward and was met by a guardian who would inspect the child’s pockets and remove any money, sweets or small toys. Puzzle or colouring books were not permitted. Other banned items included art,Continue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘An Education’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘The Old Cupboard’
Pat turned the key in the gloom and the old cupboard door opened. Shining a light, he gasped. Inside, boxes were piled high. A year calendar hung on the back of the door with days circled. Files were stacked and labelled meticulously. Civil Partnerships and Church, ‘Trouble’ Families, Euroscepticism and the Public, Standards and Sleaze:Continue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘The Old Cupboard’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘Advent’
It is the 12th of December. The passing of steady time is played out with a handball game in Doha, the King of Bahrain at Downing Street and Iraqi soldiers graduating into action after a mere month’s training in Kirkut. Was it Kirkut? The name remains, lingers like a strange flavour in the mouth. AndContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘Advent’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘Where we come from, where we go’
Some of us came from the factories, sons and daughters of coal miners and steel workers. Others were the children of doctors and professors. We were brothers, sisters, neices and nephews, friends, colleagues and lovers. You saw us only through what we did; the ways in which we toiled. We created glories, memories, happiness, andContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘Where we come from, where we go’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘I Will Never Forget You’
xx saw xx xx xxx xxxxxxxx. x thought xx xxx xxxxx xx xx x xxx crash xx cancer. xxx xxxxxx news xxx xxx xxxx harrowing. xxxxxx? Oh xxxx xxx xxxxxxx xx xxxx xxxx another xxx? xxxx xxx xxx xxxxx xxxxx xx xxxxxxxx. xxxxx xxx all xx us, xxx I xxxx. xx xxxxx xxxx shared xxxContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘I Will Never Forget You’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘The Sky at Night’
Across the sky, flitting light. Not stars as such, but gilded shards. They continue to fall, piercing horizon upon horizon. Some say they will ignite briefly over the deepest darkest parts of the ocean, to be seen only by the whales and the dolphins as they break upwards from the blue. Some say the shardsContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘The Sky at Night’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘They Come’
From Siberia and the cold continent they arrive, to make home, however temporary. To eat. To survive. The Great Northern Diver. The Arctic Skua. Waxwing and Redwing. Snow Bunting. Short-eared Owl. Guillemot. Brent Geese in their tens of thousands, huddled in the cold mud of the grey estuaries, arcing over forlorn skies. Oystercatchers from Norway,Continue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘They Come’”
100-Word Fiction: ‘Approaching the 10th Parallel’
Field medics report, come in? come in? [crackles] We are hearing you. What medicines do you require? Over. Command suitable retaliation. Use aggressive force. Come in? Use aggressive medicine? Over. There has been an interstitial interruption between spaces of matter. Check. Over. There are holes blown. We cannot hear, clear… Receiving. Medic coordinates? Over. 10thContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘Approaching the 10th Parallel’”
MW Bewick 