Stories - Long Story Short Award - 2024 - page 9 - all works

Short Fiction

5 min

Ice Cream at Pithole State

Orientation begins today and Dad graciously agreed to make the trek with me. He rolls the window down, and even though we are three hours away from Whitefish, I pray that no one from school will be ... [+]

Short Fiction

3 min

Purple Gold

Olivia Reed

The firepink flowers on the shore were purple in the dying light. I looked at them so that I didn't have to look at him. "It's almost time," he said, and pointed up ... [+]

Short Fiction

3 min

The Duel

Kendell Hayes

The Mod pushed the volume dial on his portable cassette player as high as it would go. Normally, he preferred to listen to the sound of his Lambretta as it cut through the cosmos, but the interstella ... [+]

Short Fiction

1 min

A Blessing so Rare

Kenley Kohls

The worms they pilgrimed onward
For a miracle they knew
Had poured from yonder heaven,
Their devotion would be due.

Onward! onward! To their harbor,
For the flies already there-
And beetles ... [+]

Short Fiction

1 min

Shallow Waters

Sophia Li

The sun had set on this side of the ocean. Here, we didn't have beaches or sand. Instead, cracked clam shells piled on the shore. The shards tumbled up the bank as the waves rolled in before ... [+]

Short Fiction

5 min

Køge Blues

Jojo Lo

Once, as they passed Køge on the way to the village that would be their home for the next few decades, Ava convinced her mother to spend a day at its seaport shore. There, she stood at the edge of ... [+]

Short Fiction

4 min

Through the Window, Moonlight Peeps In

Sophia Braggs

Through the window, the moonlight peeps in
You were sitting in the corner of the café today, right along the back wall. I liked how you almost fell into the shadows but were not completely ... [+]

Short Fiction

5 min

Ferry Bus

Sun Two

On the first hour of the fifth day of the eleventh month, the bus pulled up alongside the quiet stretch of road I was on. The driver was a bespectacled elder, the skin of his face dragged down due ... [+]

Short Fiction

5 min

No Rest For The Weary

Grace Franklin

I make my way down the stairs to the hull of the ship to the newest prisoner. She's different from the rest. She put up a fight. Only one brave enough to. She's no more than an orphan. Not much ... [+]

Short Fiction

4 min

Fairy Lights

Layla Grace Montesol

I keep the ropes coiled under my bed for a clear night. They're the thickest I could find. I think they're made for tug-of-war or something. Ronnie from Severville Hardware didn't ask questions when ... [+]

Short Fiction

4 min

The Tourist

Gabrielle Goh

WHEN EYES MEET, SOME SAY IT HAPPENS ONCE IN A BLUE MOON.
The warmth of a lover's sweater, the laughter from an old friend's core. I grew up in this city but in her passage of time, I call ... [+]

Short Fiction

3 min

The Descent

K V

They rushed into his room holding metal rods to beat his lifeless body.
He was barely conscious, yet his body seized from the pain and shock of the violent attack. Their hands were hidden. They ... [+]

Short Fiction

5 min

teenage chords

Sanika Ganesh

We all tire of our greatest loves. We get caught up in the flash of excitement, and we begin to believe in something real, something true, something meaningful, something lasting. But sooner o ... [+]

Short Fiction

5 min

The process of thawing

Vaenil Vembirai Nambi

Avascular Necrosis. Bone tissue death from blood supply loss—a fate Isaiah might face if his wife didn't abandon her desperate need for comfort. He could only blame himself. Well, maybe his wife's ... [+]

Short Fiction

4 min

Metamorphic

Darwin LaPollo

At first, James hadn't known what a coma was. His parents, through misty eyes, had to tell him several times in the first week after his brother's injury. Now, he was the one who had to regularly ... [+]

Short Fiction

5 min

Raising the Stellar Dead

Tanisha Shende

Raising the stellar dead. The phrase had been plastered on posters and emails in the weeks leading up to the astronomer's lecture, intriguing even the least scientifically-inclined of our student ... [+]

Short Fiction

3 min

Limbo

John Chase

"Again?!" The judge exclaimed as he grabbed onto the little strands of hair on his head. "This hasn't happened since 40 years ago!" He slowly raised his gaze until it met Tim's eyes. "I'm ... [+]

Short Fiction

4 min

The Evolution of Trust

Nazeq Abudaya

Lucy looked towards her Captain only to find him keeled over the side of the deck bringing up the contents of his stomach. The nearly imperceptible sigh that escaped her lips was the only indication ... [+]