100 Words - Bop

 

Bop the teddy bear had too much stuffing. It was weighing him down. He needed someone to hug him so hard that some of the stuffing would come out. But Bop was an ugly teddy bear. Not the ugliest, but ugly none the less.

He tried throwing himself on the floor so that people would see him and pity him. “Oh you poor bear. Let me hug you and make you feel better.” Instead, everyone just kicked him out of the way.

Then the dogs found him. Keeping stuffing in was no longer a problem. Careful what you wish for.

100 Words - Ferry Trip

 

Sitting on the top deck of the ferry, Raul wondered what this trip was for. Interviewing for a job that he didn’t want in a place he couldn’t afford. Parole officers are so hard to please. Besides, being around all these rich people made him feel, needful.

The interview went better than expected. The boss didn’t seem to care about what happened in the past. Then came the money talk. He couldn’t afford to live here on what they paid. She told him the others worked as waiters at night. She looked at him and knew that wasn’t an option.

100 Words - Failure?

 I made the mistake of trying to give one of my minor characters a backstory. Ten thousand words later my short story is now a novel focusing on this asshole that nobody likes. I tried to go back to the beginning, but it’s hopeless. The character isn’t good enough to route for, or bad enough to hate.

I have a pile of these pieces. I call them learning exercises, which is better than calling them failures. Failure is a difficult word. To me though, it implies a public rejection, and this story will never make it to the public’s eye.

100 Words - Closet Things

 

There are “things” growing in my closet under a pile of dirty clothes. It may be mutant vampire mice. It may be a new form of sentient mold. I’m afraid to look. What if doesn’t live up to my imagination? What if it’s something mundane? What if I’m boring?

That’s always the question for people of an odd bent. Am I really weird, or am I just a poser? Is my world a construct of my personality, or am I just a contrarian?

Well, the things growing in the closet dissolved all my polyester clothes. Time to call the exterminator.

100 Words - Horror

 

I had to scurry up the stairs. She had my laptop and guessed my password. (It’s not hard if you know me.) Sure enough she was rifling through my browser history. I yelled, “I’m a mystery writer! It’s just research for a book!”

I thought it would help to show her some of my recent writing and explain how it related to the research I was doing. She was hesitant, but agreed.

For the first few pages it was going well. She laughed at the cops’ witty comments. Then she got to the disemboweling scene. I’m going to miss her.

100 Words - Abandoned

 

Forgive my failings, my follies and my offenses. I seek mercy. I’m only human. I was young. I didn’t know better. Every night I pray for forgiveness. Every night the voices in my head say no.

I wander the abandoned streets seeking justice, revenge, peace or whatever I can find to break myself out of the bleakness that inhabits my soul. Failing again.

There is a woman out there somewhere. I’ll know her when I see her. She will love me, but she will not love me. There is no redemption in her arms. I’ll have none for her either.

100 Words - Dictator

 

With a minimal amount of effort, Raul could have been a great dictator. He had the education, attitude and charisma. Most importantly, he had the empathy of a metamorphic rock. Other people existed to serve, and in many cases, worship him.

He would pace in his tower lair, AKA attic apartment, and plot his rise to power on a series of vision boards covered in little yellow sticky notes he stole from his mother’s office.

Fortunately for the world, even minimal effort was too much to expect from Raul. His lethargy was a black hole, absorbing any inkling of work.