A Story In
100 Words
Literature in Tiny Bursts.
You are invited to the wonderful world of microfiction. Whether you’re a reader, a writer, or one of our future robot overlords, welcome! A Story In 100 Words is a community of literature enthusiasts no matter the length, but we have a special predilection for narratives exactly 100 words in length.
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Café
Sarah limps from the explosion, barely able to see through the dust and debris. She coughs, covers her mouth with the torn scarf, and follows the sounds of voices.
Her son and husband are most likely buried in the rubble. The last visual she has of them is laughing while they were having lunch at the café, she sipping her tea while listening to their previous day’s outing.
Her leg is throbbing, and her head pounds, but she sees soldiers up ahead.
Panting, she pleads, “My husband and son need help.”
The soldier gives her a pitying look and nods.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Reduction
He sat alone.
He watched her scrape the painted letters from the window; watched FINE ARTS CAFE become FINE ART, then FINE and finally FIN.
She took a break.
He couldn’t bear to watch anymore anyway, imagined Painting becoming mere Paint, then Pain; Lessons, Less.
Having finished his coffee, he talked to the café owner about her plans now that she’d finally served up her last cup.
He knew he’d go soon too.
He mentally counted out the other empty storefronts, some of the buildings invisible from where he sat, their windows staring out at a rapidly fading Main Street.
From Guest Contributor Ron. Lavalette
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