Stories tagged flash-fiction

Ba, or The Joy of Surround Sound

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On the program, he's listed thus: Matthew Lobmeyer...Percussion. But this is a cruel understatement, for there in the pit sits a grown man, some years older than I am, who looks like no more than a child in comparison to the army of drums that sounds him.

Good morning

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It's less than 1,000 words. No snippet for you.

The Freakin' IRS

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So I’m 69, standing on a ladder in our narrow storage room, hefting boxes of old taxes and receipts around like sides of beef in a slaughterhouse. Too old to keep doing this. Be-fuckin govt. always be fuckin with us!

The Labyrinth Man

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The bandages were my skin. They held in my organs, and when the doctors cut the dressing, my liver slipped out. Then all I remember was sirens on a loop.

Cymbals

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On stage, students from the junior college join children from the community to speak and sing in American-French accents. They are timid, heart-broken, in love, rebellious, faithful, resigned to their fates—and all in the matter of a few short hours.

Letting Go

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Bishop was a damn good dog. Black, with all the distinct brown markings of Rottweiler pedigree, or simply a devil-dog, as a friend had once laughed."What are you talking about?," I said. "Just because he's big. I've never owned a dog with a sweeter disposition.""You've…

The 50th High School Reunion

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They weren't there, so we all began to gossip a little, about them, of course. This was Donald Anderman, who'd been the Prom King, and his date for that dance, the infamous Diane Morgan. Who, as I remembered her, was a little red-faced slut if there ever was one.…

The Reunion

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A small flame of gossip began at one end of the table and began to spread like a wildfire at the first mention of Diane Morgan’s name. “That little red-faced slut stole my boyfriend from me,” I overheard Maryann Blakely saying. “I could have been Prom Que

Communion

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I dream empty, the wind blowing benzene blue. Shards of glass. Barbed wire. Bricks crushing flame into notions gone quick, never painless. Is it my blood? In my eyes. On my hands. Is it for you? I'm not sure where I'm walking here. Walking towards what from. Is it…

The Boards

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A midday surprise visit ended his second board: with Reginald in one arm, his foster-mother opened the door on a horrified case worker.

(children, children)

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Her name was Carrie. And yes, it was love at first sight. Yes, she was a client, and you were supposed to keep your hands off the clients. Everyone in real estate knew that. She came into my office and took a seat in the reception area. I had a listing on Cedar…

Spiritual Surprises at the Library

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He'd come to the library hoping to find articles on Jung's individuation process and now he was imagining a bloodied cross.

Spiritual Surprises at the Library

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He'd come to the library hoping to find articles on Jung's individuation process and now he was imagining a bloodied cross.

Nude Ascending the Stairway to Heaven

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Whoever told us that truth-telling was so wonderful, when we can plainly see that lying is the way to get results?

The Twentieth Floor

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Since running often felt like a state of mind to me, I didn't stop to think about how I would arrive there on time.