Runaround

For his eighteenth birthday, Lathan got magical boots from Grandpa, so nobody could catch him up.

When cyclopes attacked the village, Lathan ran into a leafless forest, where witches boiled bones in cauldrons; so he fled to the Glass Mountain, opaque crystals everywhere, and their shimmering princess offered engagement; flushed in embarrassment, Lathan roved to a roadside tavern, mocked by goblins, and a bounty placed on his head. He circled around the empire for a month but eventually ended up at home.

As cyclopes growled, Lathan finally faced his worries, selling the boots for a rusty sword at the blacksmith.

From Guest Contributor Bettina Laszlo

Bettina writes fiction to convey what is beyond expression. Her work has appeared in NUNUM, Dragonfly educational programme, and is forthcoming at 101 Words. She lives in Budapest with her fiancé.

Limited Engagement

Curtain rises.

Exterior of a house, bushes, a weathered blue Chevy in the drive.

The door opens. Enter GRANDPA. Locking the door, he crosses to the car. Six-year-old JEFFREY sneaks out of the bushes and creeps up behind Grandpa.

"Boo!"

The new game. He's incorrigible.

Grandpa jumps. "Jesus Motherfucking Christ!" Clamping a hand over his chest, he staggers, collapsing onto the side of the auto. Grandpa slips to the ground and is still.

Wide-eyed Jeffrey cries.

A spotlight from the stage shines out. The crying, a baby's voice.

The curtain falls.

No curtain call.

The houselights come up.

Get out.

From Guest Contributor Erik C. Martin

Erik lives and writes in San Diego. He misses Comic-Con, his critique group, and SCBWI meetings. Follow him on Twitter at @ErikCMartin.

The Longest Honeymoon

Their friends joked they were going to have the longest engagement ever. Others whispered the wedding was never going to happen. This seemed to bother Sophia even less than it bothered Gabriel. They were both extremely happy the way things were.

The wedding had become something they almost never talked about, only when their parents brought it up. These moments occurred less and less frequently as it became obvious Gabriel and Sophia weren't interested. The suspicion became that one or both of them was getting cold feet.

Everyone was wrong. This wasn't the longest engagement. It was the longest honeymoon.

Bad Journey

Rob drove down the back road at excessive amounts of speed. After losing his job, his fiancée, Felicia, broke off their engagement. He swerved into the next lane and an oncoming car approached.

“Watch it, nut!”

“Screw you,” Rob yelled.

Those few seconds his eyes were off the road, he came head on with a tree. His head slumped on the steering wheel, horn honking.

Several hours later he awakened handcuffed to a hospital bed with a policeman standing next to him.

“Once the doctor releases you, you’re coming to the station with me.”

Could Rob’s life get any worse?

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

The Final Conversation

They walked the long way to her house, so they had extra time before they reached her porch. She had a previous engagement and he wasn't invited inside.

The conversation had been lovely. They'd shared their most embarrassing moments. They made each other laugh. They held hands. They kissed around the corner, and didn't care who might see them. He would remember it fondly forever.

It was their final conversation. He stopped returning her phone calls or answering her letters. He feared things ending on a bad note, so he had waited for the perfect moment to break things off.