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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Magic Of Hell
Closed time curved loop reality travel is what Mandela-effected people are experiencing.
Say WHAT? Imagine if you will a group of people with the ability to steal ideas, people, souls, and move them from one reality to the next.
Then realize the multiverse is nothing more than mirror realities played over and over again like a film with many endings.
Those moving through time are seeing the world as a past life. Where words like Dilemna are now spelt like Dilemma. While mirror mirror on the wall is talking about a Kozyrev magic mirror that transported souls from one realm.
From Guest Contributor Clinton Siegle
Night Thoughts
I can’t bring myself to read the news anymore or even watch it on TV. There are just so many unidentified dead men with my face, just so many couples in their late thirties having trouble making a baby. Meanwhile, a small band of starving deer stagger out of the snowbound woods in search of help, but help has been repealed. Like the Oxford comma or the use of voiceover in film, the whole thing is controversial. And although it’s day, night thoughts are stuck in my head, and the only immediate alternative may be to cut my head off.
From Guest Contributor Howie Good
Howie Good is the author of Failed Haiku, a poetry collection that is the co-winner of the 2021 Grey Book Press Chapbook Contest and scheduled for publication in summer 2022.
A Genius Remains Unrecognized
HUBRIS CONTEST:
John shouted into his megaphone, sending the entire set scrambling. He was in command. He was a god, and "Flesh Would Melt" was his creation, his masterpiece finally springing to life.
Even amidst the commotion, there was a still part of John's mind that was not occupied by the calculating of f-stops or picking out of wallpaper patterns. He thought of the first time he'd seen Hamlet performed, wondering at the rapturous applause, and thinking to himself that if he had been in charge, he would have done better.
Almost exactly one year later, John's film premieres to universal vilification.
From Guest Contributor Eduardo Felin
DDS Confession
Here is a secret--it’s not about the pain. Rather, it’s about prolonging the discomfort.
I like to let the saliva build. Oh, you need suction? Sorry, it hadn’t occurred to me.
Pinching gums with the film is also a winner (hope you don’t have gingivitis!), as is leaving impression compound in too long (can you feel it hardening?).
But the all-time best: we exchange pleasantries, and once my hands are in your mouth I start the questions. The mask covers my smile. But look closely, ever so closely…
…and you might just catch when my eyes roll back.Mmmmmm.
From Guest Contributor Jeff H.
Jeff is a high school English teacher. He blogs at https://batchandnarrative.com/ with his wife, a dietitian, about writing, food, and everything else.
Star Wars Fan
I bought my movie ticket a week ago, to see Rogue One. Now the day of, a heavy rain storm caused flooding and traffic. I had to make it there. I sat in the car stuck behind honking car horns thinking of last year’s Star Wars film and Princess Leia’s recent death. A tragedy. Okay, the traffic started moving. I had fifteen minutes to get there, park, and buy popcorn.
The parking lot was unusually empty. I found a spot close to the theater. After I ran through puddles, the sign on the door read closed due to inclement weather.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
The Billionaire's Mistress
The detective smoked on the cigar as he watched the new client walk in. The person was evidently from the lower rungs. Quite distinct from his general clientele. He wondered where did she get the reference, money, and the confidence to approach his office.
"I'm a mistress of the owner of Exotic Chemicals. His daughter has gone missing. I'm here to represent the owner."
As he put down the cigar on the ashtray, he recalled the magazine stories about the secretive billionaire. The conspiracy theories on film raced across his vision as the client opened her lips to speak again.
From Guest Contributor Debarun Sarkar
Debarun sleeps, eats, reads, smokes, drinks, labors, and occasionally writes stories and submits them. Recent works have appeared or are forthcoming in Visitant, Off the Coast, The Opiate, Aainanagar, Rat’s Ass Review, Tittynope, and here at A Story in 100 Words, among others. He can be reached at debarunsarkar.wordpress.com
Her Private Video Archive
I had first come across her archive of personal video footage, when she left the house to me for a few months, on her trip to Japan.
She had a considerable collection of 8mm tapes, DVDs, and CDs filled with amateur video footage.
I remember clearly that, I spent a whole month locked in the house, watching her film the mundane and the eventful. When she did not return from the trip to Japan, I auctioned it to an art gallery for a considerable sum of money.
Her 'Sans Soleil' though was never seen, like her footage of the riots.
From Guest Contributor Debarun Sarkar
Debarun sleeps, eats, reads, smokes, drinks, labors and occasionally writes stories and submits them. Recent works have appeared or are forthcoming in Off the Coast, The Opiate, Aainanagar, Rat's Ass Review, Cerebration, and here at A Story in 100 Words. He can be reached at debarunsarkar.wordpress.com
Future Ghosts
Every instance of seeing one’s reflection, especially when alone, merges to form a person's self-awareness. When reviewed in one's mind, these tiny portraits play like a film at thirty frames per second.
For Hugh, this rendition of himself had for too long been tinctured by a sinister affectation. He didn't want to believe the person facing him in the mirror was truly himself. Yet, the longer he faced this apparition, the more its evil seeped into him.
When Hugh died, after a long life of many misdeeds, his spirit stayed behind to haunt him through the mirrors of his past.
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