Something Behind

Jules sensed the tap before she heard it. Tap – a short and uncertain sound behind. I won’t look, she thought. It’s nothing. Tap tap – unmistakable this time. I won’t hurry. There was no reason to fear anything here on ground made so familiar by her feet night after night, year after year on…

By Lisa March 18, 2020 Off

Liftoff – Redux

It’s Six Sentence Story time again and I am late to the party, as always. This week proved difficult for me. I finally decided to take something I did previously for Six Sentence Stories, and see if I could do a different version. This week’s post is the result. You can look at the previous…

By Lisa March 16, 2020 Off

Clarice’s Apron

Clarice wiped her hands on her apron for the fortieth time that day. After many hours of doing, she was ready to sit, to read perhaps, or to reflect. “This is not my life,” she might once have said. She never imagined this version of Clarice. Never allowed herself to consider it. But life changes,…

By Lisa March 11, 2020 Off

The Coat

Frank hurried along the street with arms crossed and back to the wind doing his best to ward off the cold. The calendar said spring, but it was still a cold hell most nights for those who made their beds on the streets. The wind picked up the corner of a coat sleeve on the…

By Lisa March 9, 2020 Off

Leaving

Carla didn’t know what drove her decision. She only knew she needed to go. She flew through the house, stuffing items into her duffel. From the bedroom, her favorite sweatshirt. His, really. Too bad. From the dining room she grabbed her current reading pile and a half-drunk Diet Coke. She stamped down the three steps…

By Lisa March 3, 2020 Off

The Golf Game

Mick was surrounded by guffaws and knee slaps as soon as he finished his swing and his club made contact with the ball. Swoosh…thwack. “That’s your fifth slice in a row, man! Maybe you want a cold beer to go along with it?” Swoosh…thwack. Mick grabbed his club, picked up his bag, and walked off…

By Lisa March 1, 2020 Off

The Hot Rod

Jed wasn’t even close to cool, despite his own internal certainty to the contrary. Through all of his junior high and early high school years, Jed was alternately invisible or punchably solid, depending on the gender of those surrounding him in the locker-lined corridor.* It took him a long while to figure out that the…

By Lisa February 23, 2020 Off

Sugar Report: Code Red

Kiddo was unusually wound up when Mom picked her up at school. “How was school today?” “Great!” she said. Kiddo, backpack, lunchbox, and Valentine’s box all tumbled into the car. “The Valentine party was SOOOO much fun!” “Hmm…” said Mom. “What did you eat today?” “I only had my lunch that you packed. It was…

By Lisa February 18, 2020 Off

Greenhouse Effect

Jamie had no patience for gardening – that was a chore reserved for eccentric old Southern women in big hats. And she really did not see how an internship at this obscure local greenhouse would benefit someone about to finish her dual doctorate in ecology and environmental studies. Plants seem innocuous enough, Jamie thought as…

By Lisa February 14, 2020 Off

George

George was a very blue dog. Being stuffed as he was, George didn’t spend much time romping among the daisies. He most often played indoors with his favorite sidekick, Kiki the green turtle. Being a turtle as she was, Kiki didn’t do much romping, well, anywhere. George the blue dog loved Kiki and he loved…

By Lisa February 11, 2020 Off