Stories - Long Story Short Award - Fall 2020 - page 3 - Short Fiction

Short Fiction

4 min

Roger and Sue

Roger was very good at planning and very bad at being alone, which is why he’d always selfishly hoped to marry someone at least five years younger than him.
He knew he’d have to wait a few years ... [+]

Short Fiction

5 min

Riffles

Piper Kufeldt

His fingers tapped against the flat black keyboard, the clank of each key drilling in his ears chiming the same monotonous tone they had for the past 5 years. He faltered for a moment, not even a ... [+]

Short Fiction

5 min

Retrograde

Wade Lundgren

“Private Calcelmo.” Commander Martins bellows, his voice ringing sharply in my ears, cigar wobbling up and down like a fishing bobber.

I sigh tentatively in relief as Calsy moves to stand ... [+]

Short Fiction

1 min

sidewalk cardinals

Alex Benedict

watch, cardinals are springing along the sidewalk; it’s 8:00 AM and the wet sidewalk is cluttered with red berries; cardinals like blood clots; there are particular cardinals, which spin their heads ... [+]

Short Fiction

2 min

Exposed

Charmaine Chan

“Yes!” Liam exclaimed. He had just gotten 200 happy points for his MyGram post. Molly padded over and plopped next to him on the sofa. “Which photo did you post this time?” asked Molly as she handed ... [+]

Short Fiction

3 min

Satisfaction

Sophie Kandler

A dump like this shouldn't have an outdoor cafe, especially in this part of town. Not that it’s much- a few rusty black painted tables with matching chairs, all chained to the wall. This table has a ... [+]

Short Fiction

2 min

Thunder

Sophie Basch

Rory was watching the sky, as at regular intervals it lit up for just a moment with electricity running from cloud to cloud. It was odd, she thought, how unremarkable something such as lightning could ... [+]

Short Fiction

1 min

Rita's Pancakes

Alexis Welsh

June 13th, 2012

I'm hungry. I want pancakes. I untangle myself from Max and get off the bed.

I open the door to Mom and Dad's room and climb up. They look asleep. I could wake them, but ... [+]

Short Fiction

3 min

Actually, I'd Rather Have the Pumpkins Back

Merili Roberts

The Cursed-Pumpkin-Field Festival had always been her favorite part of the year.
This year, unfortunately, her father had remembered that she’d turned twenty a month prior.
As he announced to ... [+]

Short Fiction

1 min

The Ape-Prince and The Blue Star: A Fable

Ezra Stewart

The ape-prince was reclining on his throne one evening, surrounded by his treasures: silver drops of crystal moonlight, red robes woven from the silk of the sea-spider, periwinkle roses that bloom ... [+]

Short Fiction

2 min

Comfortable

Krista Sanders

“I got Fruity Pebbles,” David says before setting down his load of groceries in the middle of the tiled kitchen floor.

“Cool, thanks.”

He opens the refrigerator door with his foot but it ... [+]

Short Fiction

2 min

The Commodore

Charles Williamson

The quiet that came with being on land was what annoyed the commodore most. A vessel underway had music to it, men and machine moving in time as if playing a symphony with him as the conductor. At the ... [+]

Short Fiction

5 min

Trees

Caleb Litster

He must have been walking for half an hour before he turned around to go home. He wasn't sure what it was that impelled him to frequent these woods. Maybe it was anger, taking some savage pleasure ... [+]

Short Fiction

5 min

The Mountain's not Enough.

Joseph Henderson

Like garden weeds, the worries of Vost Saepe seemed to appear everywhere in his life. They were omnipresent and vicious: in work, in school, with friends, at church. There was no escaping. Before ... [+]

Short Fiction

5 min

Dancing Blue

Estelle Bookwalter

/You seem disoriented.
It can’t really be helped, what you just went through is pretty shocking. Although, to be honest, it’s actually a minor occurrence in the grand scheme of things. After all ... [+]

Short Fiction

5 min

Panther

Mallorie Evans

“Land ahead!”
The guide’s thickly accented voice pierced the heavy, humid air, signaling to his small crew to prepare for a collision with the shore. The sun was starting to peer over the horizon ... [+]

Short Fiction

5 min

Koala Customer Service

Dion Sanders

from: care_bentley@gmail.com
to: help@auwildlife.org
Sent 05/06 2:19 PM
Dear AWPS,
My daughter and I have still not received our koala.
I acknowledge that there may be difficulties ... [+]

Short Fiction

3 min

The Griot's Tale

Ruel Beresford

I saw my children enter my humble abode earlier this morning, with sullen expressions on their face. I was confused. “What is wrong young ones?” I inquired as they were quite happy yesterday yet in ... [+]