Cruel

On our Saturday morning walk, my daughter found a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest.

"Can we take it home?"

"I think it's dead, sweetheart." When I explained what that meant, she didn't seem too bothered and I thought the matter forgotten.

A few days later, my ex-wife called to say she'd had to meet with Chelsea's teacher after school. "She got in trouble for making two of her classmates cry."

"What did she do?"

"She told them that God is cruel and kills those who deserve it least."

"Weird. I wonder where she got that from."

A Walk In The Woods

At the foot of a Hawthorn tree, I discover a pine cone sitting in a nest. I wonder how that got in there? A mother bird would surely like to fill this nest with her eggs. A fairy-wren? A thornbill? Besides, I am going to make a wreath for Christmas. Did it just move? Wow. Soft. Heartbeat. The young creature, a precocious master in camouflage and a guaranteed non-candidate for extinction, twitches in the palm of my sweaty hand. I caress its feathers. A teardrop lands on its woody back. I step backwards. Crunch go the leaves. Goodbye little one.

From Guest Contributor Isabelle B.L

Isabelle is an Australian/French author and TEFL teacher.

Evening Walk

I still smelled the floral scent of my wife’s perfume and dreamed of her laughing, a soft cackle that used to bring a smile to my face. Her beautiful complexion used to turn heads wherever we went. She was flawless.

One evening the air was perfect for a walk, or so we thought.

That was the evening a man wearing a mask robbed my wallet. When my wife called him a coward, he shot her in the stomach. When she laid on the ground, my hand cupping her head, she whispered, “I love you.”

My world was never the same.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

Thrilling Conclusion

The end came as a surprise. Endings always do. It got to the point he was checking his watch, wondering how much longer this could possibly go on, but then it was suddenly the denouement, and he looked about wondering if anyone else had seen this coming, and they all had. He was the only one caught unawares.

Weird how it works out that way.

He choose to think about the last walk they took together, and the first walk, and all the walks in between. They were always the same walk, but he'd give everything for just one more.

In response to Thrilling Conclusion by Robert Wood Lynn

Their Saturday Morning Walk

“How was it Ed?”

By 10:30, Ed returned with Frodo, after their Saturday morning walk. Frodo, a Labrador retriever, immediately went to his food dish.

“I played fetch with Frodo in the park. He chased a squirrel, Edna, and they ran into the middle of a parade. I caught him, then we went by Sawyer's place.”

“Was his forsythia in bloom?”

Cornelius Sawyer had an almost pathological attraction to his bush.

“Yeah...Frodo peed all over it, Edna. Then Sawyer threw a brick at him.”

“That was it?”

“No, he threw a tennis racket at me.”

“Oh...So, nothing unusual.”

From Guest Contributor David Sydney

Best Friends Forever

Michael sits on the dock with his feet dangling in the water. Frank lounges next to him, his nose alert for danger or snacks.

Perhaps they will go for a walk along the lake, or follow the dried creek bed up to the moss tree. Or Michael might grab a fishing pole from the shed and spend the afternoon at the shady shore. Frank would probably rather chase squirrels and rabbits in the grassy meadow.

It's the kind of day that you want to freeze in time and make it last forever.

The kind of day made for best friends.

The Walk

Spring is here. The annual renewal of the town means that colors abound, including in the faces of every passerby. People say hello to each other in a friendly manner that hasn't been seen since the previous year. The smiles are contagious.

Stephen, the town priest, is perhaps the only unhappy soul to be found. He sulks from the portico of the church as the healthy and eager parishioners who remain alive celebrate as if he weren't there.

Business was much better during the plague. For once in living memory the townspeople actually welcomed his ministry instead of the doctor's.

The Walk

I must be insane walking the streets at 3 o’clock in the morning, but I need to clear my head and the air helps.

A dog lunges at me from the alley nearly biting my ankle. It growls and leaves. I head toward my apartment since I wouldn’t get any thinking done after that.

I’m about to put the key in the door when a tap on my left shoulder startles me and I jump.

It’s my son Jameson.

“Dad, I want help, I need help.” His beseeching voice says.

I unlock the door and leave it open behind me.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

Storm

The snow and wind pelted my face. The inclemency hadn’t started until I was half-way to the subway station, and people slipped across the pavement rushing to get home. Vehicles honked at pedestrians cutting in and out of lanes, so I had to be careful. I tried not to think about the numbing in my fingers after forgetting my gloves at home.

After a half hour walk which should’ve taken ten minutes, I was in the station.

When the train arrived and I boarded, I knew it would be a matter of time before I’d be snug by the fireplace.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

Losers

It was the last inning in an adult softball playoff game. We were behind by two runs. I had gotten a walk, which filled the bases. The next batter could tie or win the game. The manager replaced two of us with pinch runners, which caused our second and third outs for batting out of order. Many people thought that I was a good runner. Pinch runners were supposed to be used for the injured. I had objected to being subbed out, and this time it ensured our loss. I didn’t say it out loud, but I quit softball then.

From Guest Contributor Doug Hawley