Just A River That Runs
by Dorsey Baker
(NLR, Arkansas(US))
As he carefully walked across the small river bridge,suddenly, a great fear came upon him. an uncontrollable fear!
He trembled when he thought of the massiveness of the river, the smallness of himself in relation to its strength and size!
"The river runs a very long way", he said, " and it never ever stops!"
Suddenly, he felt unexpected weakness! an unexpected feeling of worthlessness!
He was becoming light-headed and his footsteps were becoming clumsy and unsure of themselves!
Torrential tears forced themsleves into his burning eyes!
Weakness had descended upon him, and in his weakness,he dropped down upon his knees and started to crawl.
He had become a serpent of himself!
He had become a victim of his own venom!
He looked within himself for more strength!
He looked within himself for more courage!
A Dark Road You Can't Escape
by Dorsey Baker
(NLR,Arkansas(US))
I find myself, alone, driving down this dark road, I am fully aware of the fact that, there are so many places for ghosts to appear! So many places for criminals to hide, on this dark road!
My eyes are open wide, but they cannot see a thing that might be lurking on both sides of this dark road. They can only see what is directly in front of them, and only because that is the direction my head-lights are pointing!
I hear an awful sound!
I don't know what it is!
I just know that it is coming from out there somewhere,
in that chilly darkness!
A chilly feeling runs up and down my spine. I hold the steering wheel,just a little tighter!
My eyes burn and my chest feels, tighter!
Darkness has invaded my car and taken over!
It has totally invaded me!
There is nothing I can do about the invasion-I can only keep on driving!
A Match of the Mind
by Dorsey Baker
(NLR, Ark(US))
Two young men vowed to engage in a fight to the finish,over a girl! A girl of much beauty and sweetness of personality!
They vowed to gather a group of friends to join them in their fight to the finish , over this girl!
Each young man had a group of friends he could depend upon to help him in his fight to the finish, over this girl!
A group of friends that would come armed with guns,knives, axes, and pitchforks, in this fight to the finish, over this girl!
A group of friends endowed with much endurance and much strength, in this fight to the finish, over this girl!
A group of friends who would join them as they engaged in this senseless waste of time and energy! They would bring much violence and bloodshed to this fight to the finish, over this girl!
But just when the fight was about to begin, they noticed that the girl the fight would be over, had disappeared from sight! "But after all, "Its just a video game", they say, "We will just invent another girl, and start again!"
Blood of the Serpent
by Dorsey Baker
(NLR, Ark(US))
She sat in the chair, it rocked back and forth, with her small trembling body. A serpent circled the chair a few times, then it climbed upon her and entered into her trembling body!
Thus, she became the serpent!
She screamed with much pleasure and much pain in response to what she was now feeling!
The chair rocked back and forth-this time, rocking the serpent that the woman had now become.
The woman had abandoned herself-to become the serpent!
She had become a vicious serpent with deadly venom!
She had become blood thirsty!
And nothing would satisfy this thirst, but the blood; the blood of the serpent she had now become!
Time Without Budget and Life Without Organization
by Dorsey Baker
(NLR, Ark(US))
It's 10 am, she is already late. Rushing to get ready! Late again! But she needs the job! She's behind in her rent and utilities!
She was fired from her last job a few months ago, because of tardiness and poor job performance!
She was up late last night partying with her friends. Betty has had this problem all her life. She just doesn't know how to budget her time. And she doesn't know the meaning of organization!
She walks out of her door, jumps into her car! Realizing that her gas tank is almost empty, she must make a quick stop at the gas station and fill up her gas tank!
Driving like a bat out of hell! She arrives at work. Its almost lunch-time! She starts to punch in,her boss says,"You're fired!" Now realizing the seriousness of her fault, she turns and walks quickly out of the door, but this time with a strong determination and firm intention to get her life better organized and budget her time more effectively now!
She knows she must quickly find new employment! She is hoping that her past does not too greatly diminish her employment prospects!
She knows that the job market is more crowded than ever! But she is willing to struggle to get back in, and this time she plans on staying in!
Secrets Can Be Deadly
by Sarah Adamson
(Auckland, New Zealand)
My hand slowly slips from your grip and your face darkens along with the sky above us. Tears slide away from your eyes and my fingers tried to fasten back on to your hand. I lose my balance and your scream starts to ring out through the trees around us as my foot breaks away from the only thing keeping us from death. Your hair catches in the wind and whips into my face. The sweet smell that hits me reminds me of home and I began to feel remorse for the loved ones we were about to lose.
People always say that life flashes before your eyes when you are about to die but there was nothing, just the glimpse of my sister's eyes, so wide and innocent, before we hit the ground.
As I slowly open my eyes, strong bright lights cover a white room. The lights burn my eyelids and I close them again.I begin to wonder what was going on. Was I in heaven? I couldn’t feel my body, I was so numb. I reopen my eyes slowly, trying to figure out what was happening. A sharp pain stabs at my chest and I reach down to feel a needle buried in my skin and I begin to shake with fear. The world comes into focus and all I can see are tubes and tubes everywhere. My mother in the distance rises quickly from her chair and searches my face for probably the millionth time that day. She sees my the fear in my eyes and cries out for the doctor. A tall, woman with glowing white skin touches my wrist and looks at a chart which is stapled onto a clipboard. She asks me my name. I look up at her but I can’t speak as my lips won’t move. She asks again, still nothing but a faint sigh escapes my throat. Tears slip away from my eyes. Why is my mother crying so much? The doctor gives up. I try with all my might to get out the one word on my mind, the only word that was on my mind. Lily.
“She’s dead,” my mother said as if she could read my mind. “She saved your life.” I stare at my mother's blue eyes in confusion, Lily saved my life? But I was trying to save her life on that mountain not the other way round. The doctor went on to say that she had fallen on her back and that the impact of having me in her arms had crushed her. She had had broken my fall and saved my life but it was my entire fault. I was the one who was supposed to die on that mountain, not Lily. I was the one with the big secret. A secret that could cause so much grief for so many people.
I Waited: My 100-Word Story
by Cathy Mcdowell
(Bradenton, FL)
I sat gazing out the window, my long blond hair hanging to my shoulders. I shuddered at the sound of thunder in the valley near by.
Will he come back to me? I wondered. A tear slipped from the corner of my eye just as I saw headlights coming. Is it him?
Has he finally returned? I dreamt.
I wait and I pray. “Heavenly Father, please bring him back safely”
I see headlights, it’s him this time, it's really him. God answered my prayer and now my life will go on.
He comes in the door and embraces me forever in his arms.
While She Sleeps
by bob tomolillo
(boston, mass )
Last night my Icelandic wife spoke Spanish in her sleep. “Es muy importante”, she said.
Many years ago she vacationed in Barcelona.
Sometimes she sleeps with her arms outstretched.
”There are a lot of people in my head at night, “ she says, as I help her slip out of her sweaty nightclothes.
The sacrifice she made all these years to leave her beloved homeland is hidden in these dreamscapes.
I found a Bible under her pillow while changing her bed sheets.
Her mother once told her that placing schoolbooks under her pillow would help remember her lesson.
As her restless spirit moves through the night I can only watch and listen for she is alone in her labyrinth. I am helpless and distant as she struggles against her malady. She winces as I brush my hand against her forehead . She covers her nose from offending odors which I cannot detect. Thriving house plants are discarded for their imagined consequence. I am the sentry on watch during her struggle determined to follow its lead and when at last the infection subsides a new challenge arises, one more terrifying than the last. We sit together, numbed and silent until the answer is revealed, as a red ant moves across the tile floor, emerging from its pinhole entrance, a miniscule construct of life, moving to each edge of the square, gauging its ability to cross the grout line, filling the room with the volume of its reason, until it finally crosses the massive trench.
If Only I Had
by KC Chan Wing Haw
(Malaysia)
I walk away from that room despite my body enjoys the stay. A moment like that can only stay in my memory. Well, not for too long. I have too many comings and goings. In fact, it still lingers inside me.
"How would you like this to be made for you?"
"Well, I don't know what to say." I looked at her, enlarging my eyes each time I lowered my head.
"You can have this made according to your taste, like if you like them to be in diamonds and in sequence form, we can put that on your instruction form."
I couldn't help but shading my joy all over that dress she was holding. I kept looking at the dress and listening to her voice; and knocking myself back to reality. I hate it.
"How much do I pay?"
"For the instructions, they are free of charge, but for the installations and alteration of the dress, you need to pay on top of the cost of the dress, so, that would come up to another price, which I can put them down at the cashier table, follow me."
"If so, my parents outside, I take them in."
"No problem, I put this dress on the table and how do they call you?" She took out a black pen and pulled off the cover with her teeth. With the cover in between her teeth, she looked like a chick looking hungrily for her mother. She was ready to put my name onto the purchaser card.
"I come back."
I am colored with joy. I keep thinking if only I had. But these are the days I keep my street life entertained. If I had that dress I would have gone to some place to meet up a gentleman.
The Main Day In His Life
by Brian Wilkie
(England)
He felt the might of the Midwife's right hand as it connected with his padded bit at the back.
If he could have shouted some abuse at her he would have, but as he was less than one minute old he didn’t even know if his mouth could open.
He had heard many abusive words while making his way down the tunnel.
“ WHAAAAAAAA.” He screamed.
He wanted to smile, but didn’t know how to.
He opened his eyes.
Just as he was about to give her full throttle with his lungs again.
He noticed she was upside down.
