DailyArt I don’t remember when I got my DailyArt™. It’s an electronic picture frame with a subscription: every morning when I wake up, a never-before-seen picture greets me. They started out cheerful but soon the colors darkened, and the shapes hinted at tragic things. Then this morning I woke up to a single scrawled word….
Tag: drabble
Death Mill
Death Mill “It roars through, same time every afternoon, on these metal rails. No one knows from where or to where.” “They’ve got to lead somewhere. You could follow them.” “I tried! Walked for, like, an hour. Still going. What’s important, though, it’s great for milling wheat. You put the wheat all along the rails…
Tuesday Night at the Bliss & Blah
Tuesday Night at the Bliss & Blah She sat down purposefully at the bar. The bartender glanced over. “What’ll it be?” “A shot of melancholy.” He raised an eyebrow. “Straight? We’ve got a cocktail that mixes melancholy, nostalgia and wistfulness, with a dash of hope.” “Straight. With a remorse chaser.” “Geez, you’re really looking for…
Dark Sustenance
Dark Sustenance He ate the Pop-Tarts first. They were easy to identify by the feel of the foil wrapped squares. After some time (a day? a week?) they were gone and he was hungry again. He tried eating uncooked rice, but it hurt his stomach, and he lay in agonized blackness and strained to hear…
Authentic
Authentic “So, no cruise then?” “Ugh, they’re just so artificial. Now, this medieval experience. That’s authentic.” “Like, how authentic?” “Oh, the whole deal. Straw mattresses, pigs and chickens staying in the same room, even real fleas and lice!” “Real? Not robots?” “Nope. They breed them specially. Plus, there are daily excursions out to the fields…
Frank
Frank “Whatcha watching?” I was just thinking how much it sucked being constantly alone when I heard the voice coming from below the TV. “Whatcha watching?” it asked again, slow and curious. “A documentary about crushing cars.” “Cool.” It was coming from the toy koala my niece made for me. “What’s your name?” I asked….
Build For What You Want
Build For What You Want In my culture, hospitality is life. And hospitality fills the space it is given. Build a 2-man tent and you can only have one guest. I wanted a tent for a hundred friends. No one makes tents for a hundred people. Merchants scoffed. “You need a palace,” one said. “I…
A Real Vacation
A Real Vacation Allison woke to the sun shining through the tent door. She made breakfast and sat looking out over the valley. This is what I need. A real vacation. The breeze smelled like pine. Too much? No, just right. Relax. You are alone in the Scottish Highlands for four days. Enjoy it. The…
Nip and Tack
Nip and Tack 48 Peacock Lane was breathing comfortably. Structural anesthesiologists were monitoring it, and the surgery crew moved in. “Anything major?” Jim asked the lead surgeon as he assembled a reciprocating saw. “Nah, just light touchup work. Some rotten siding. Cosmetic stuff.” “It’s a new world.” Jim shook his head. “Sometimes I wish houses…
Creeping Things
Creeping Things Footsteps creep by outside, military-style boots. Breathe slowly. Militia, looking for conscripts. Or target practice. Stomach rumbles. It’s been hours. Low voices. So hungry. Moving away. Something creeps across your hand. You grab it instinctively. It squirms. You stuff it in your mouth. Crunchy. Suddenly you’re a kid again, hunting crickets in the…
The Green-Walled Treehouse 