Microfiction
TCoE: Climb
A scoff erupted from above. "You'll never make it," a man's ragged voice sneered. A twelve-year-old boy with messy dark hair and tan skin pulled his brown eyes from the parchment in his shaking hands. The sharp, resentful words cut his heart, leaving it frozen and gradually draining. The skinny lad was a bit taken aback by the stranger's harshness, but he mentally fought hard to brush it off. After a few moments, the bitter man who taunted the boy removed the hood of his cloak to reveal a scarred face. The man had wrinkly, tanned skin and long, dark hair.
By Mel E. Furnishabout 3 hours ago in Fiction
The Harmless Detail
Wisdom is in the little details. 🌹🧠🩸 It started with a small rose-like patch on his skin. Reddish-brown, almost like a little tattoo that had etched itself on Barry Leong's right wrist. He glanced at it, barely, then paid it no mind. It itched, very slightly. Nothing worth discussing at the dinner table. Too unnoticeable to interrupt the day.
By Michelle Liew Tsui-Linabout 18 hours ago in Fiction
We Stand in Moonlight
We walked around the castle’s defences again. The moon is full tonight and she is stronger than me. As we walk, the guards stare at us, probably wondering which one of us they watch. No one approaches us; they never do. We stand and watch the moon rise over the tallest tree that was planted generations ago. Soon, the moon will reach its highest point. We wait; she wants to see the castle’s lands by silver light and I have neither energy nor inclination to resist her. I do resist sometimes, usually out of anger but sometimes out of fear. Sometimes, the guards don’t even look at us, unsure of which one of us we are or of interrupting us. Sometimes, people even fear to approach us during the day, not even waiting until moonrise to wonder. I do not understand how they can make such a mistake; we act differently and dress differently – something that used to result in a fight, but I have since learned to pick the battles to expend energy on – and her eyes are silver. Even when we wear my clothing and the sun shines, our eyes give us away.
By Dionearia Reda day ago in Fiction
No Signal
The first thing Lorelei noticed was the sound. Not silence — she had expected silence — but a roaring, ceaseless, all-consuming noise. The surf. It came from every direction, a white static that swallowed everything else, and for a long, disoriented moment she thought she had gone deaf and the world had filled the gap with its own voice.
By Parsley Rose a day ago in Fiction
Bridges. Content Warning.
In preparation, my shadow crossed that bridge. A mission, a reconnaissance in a way. It was just a moment in time I could never forget; I mean who could and soon it will be in the distance. I mean it is life changing, life is always changing. Of all the things we have weaved and engineered in life as humans you would think we would have found a way to control the weather, disease, and each other by now. The snow piling up and the wind was strong blowing off the frozen fields. Across the street I watched from my bed the tombstones bracing the wind for days as the snow drifted in front of them, as if the bodies were under all that snow still waiting on the grounds first thaw. That gap between breath and silence briefly on hold, waiting peacefully for the storm to pass. I am sure the dead have somewhere to be, but what is the hurry now?
By Gerry Thibeaulta day ago in Fiction
The Lantern in the Fog
The fog settled over the village like a blanket soaked in silence. At first it was gentle, wrapping the streets in a quiet hush. But as night deepened, it thickened into something heavier, almost alive, crawling along the cobblestones and slipping into the cracks of every home. It was not the kind of fog that simply blurred the edges of things. This fog carried a chill that touched the marrow, a weight that pressed on the heart, and whispered doubts in voices that sounded eerily familiar.
By Sound and Spirit2 days ago in Fiction
A magical mess in the cyber city of Neonopolis
A magical mess in the cyber city In the not-so-distant future, where hoverboards zoomed alongside flying taxis and augmented reality was a common as a cup of coffee, the city of Neonopolis pulsed with an electric energy. It was a place where tech ruled supreme, and the only magic people believed in was the kind that came with a software update. But thanks to its tech-savvy citizens, the real magic was just a glitch away.
By Jazell carrasco3 days ago in Fiction
The Ballroom
The ball is in full swing. The music swells and flows as couples swirl together on complicated patterns. The pianoforte, cornopean, flute and violins make a harmonious sound a they play a mixture of traditional quadrilles and other patterns interspersed with more modern, more scandalous music like waltzes. Even rarer, a Highland reel can be heard, leading to raucous laughter as the eject couples attempt the complicated patterns. Other sounds like the clicking of glasses float around the musicians' music, sometimes complementing but more often competing as lemonade and wine are consumed by those gathered.
By Dionearia Red3 days ago in Fiction
