French Christmas

Divine Intervention

He prayed and the UFO appeared above his fence, whirring and clicking. Now he's thrown away the bottles and waits for its ghostly shape to visit him, rising above his makeshift altar like the moon.

A few blocks away, 8-year-old Jimmy Bentley sneaks into the garage and fires up his older brother’s drone.  

Each month, Press 53 hosts a 53-word short story contest. This is my response to their prompt for the month of July, which was: write a 53-word story about a UFO. To see the full list of prompts and contest winners, click here.

Let Me Come In

From the riverbank he watches the houses go down, hears the screams, sees the sticks and the straw gust by. He scoops the mud the river offers him so gently, scoops it and shapes it and lays it out to dry in the sun. Bricks like tiny soldiers, lined up one by one.

Each month, Press 53 hosts a 53-word short story contest. This is my response to their prompt for the month of June, which was: write a 53-word story about mud. To see the full list of prompts and contest winners, click here.

Borrowed Time

He wasn’t mine, not really, but he was so little, snuffling and tucking himself up under my chin like a sparrow under the house eaves that I couldn’t help but pretend.

Six months later, after the inevitable break up, I still keep one of his errant socks found hiding in my book bag.

Each month, Press 53 hosts a 53-word short story contest. This is my response to their prompt for the month of May, which was: write a 53-word story about a lost sock. To see the full list of prompts and contest winners, click here.

Bloody Valentine

The heart was engorged, bleating, practically buckling under the weight of so much fevered blood. The words inside the card—written in her father’s careful script—were the same. Verses dizzy and reckless, ready to impale themselves or leap to the death for their one true love, Enid.

Her mother’s name was Pearl.

Each month, Press 53 hosts a 53-word short story contest. This is my response to their prompt for the month of April, which was: write a 53-word story about a poem. To see the full list of prompts and contest winners, click here. 

 

Circumstances of Coincidence

A busted alarm and a subway fire put him on the bus that day behind the girl in the yellow jacket. She made him homesick for a feeling he couldn't place, before alighting for the coffee shop.

What luck! she tells their children years later. The barista handed my latte to your father.

Each month, Press 53 hosts a 53-word short story contest. This is my response to their prompt for the month of March, which was: write a 53-word story about luck. To see the full list of prompts and contest winners, click here. 

Minnesota Nice

At the bake sale, everyone stopped by her booth and told her what a nice smile she had. Behind her lips, a shadow flickered and twisted. Sometimes she didn’t want to be nice.

She plunged the knife deeper into the slice of lemon meringue and peeled her lips back.

Would you like another?

Each month, Press 53 hosts a 53-word short story contest. This is my response to their prompt for the month of February, which was: Write a 53-word story about a shadow. To see the full list of prompts and contest winners, click here. 

Biomimicry

There are parts of me that can’t speak. When the dark bites, when the cold comes in, they spin cocoons, then take to their tiger-striped wings and slip away south.

There are parts of you that can’t answer, but they are the milkweed seeds, silk frozen mid-air in January. Promising roots and blooms.

Each month, Press 53 hosts a 53-word short story contest. This is my response to their prompt for the month of January, which was: Write a 53-word story about a promise. To see the full list of prompts and contest winners, click here. 

Handmade

I drop the box and it shatters, everything I’ve hid there comes tumbling out: my murders, my secrets, my nasty bits. Things I don’t want anyone to find. He kneels down next to me, helps me pick up the shards and the splinters one by one. Don’t worry, he says. We’ll fix it.

Each month, Press 53 hosts a 53-word short story contest. This is my response to their prompt for the month of December, which was: Write a 53-word story about a box. To see the full list of prompts and contest winners, click here. 

Layers

I leave bits of myself behind on hotel bed sheets, circling down shower drains. The skin peels back to reveal what I’ve buried. Memories are flash frozen, mouths open, caught in the moment when the dirt poured down their throats. But further down, new Earth rises persistent, pushes them towards the surface.  

Each month, Press 53 hosts a 53-word short story contest. This is my response to their prompt for the month of November. To see the full list of prompts and contest winners, click here. 

Homecoming

Woo! This month my entry was the winner of Press 53’s 53-word short story contest! Click here to read it. Thanks!