100 Words, Day 5: Not At All Handled with Care

Somewhere between Bangkok and North Dakota, the letter had seen the harsher side of a postal mail sorter. Jagged tears ripped one side open, and the left edge was well and truly bent, folded, and mutilated. The return address, once inked in precise Spencerian script, had been reduced to a… Continue reading

100 Words, Day 4: Out of the Water and on to the Watering

The winter melons ran out first. Albiderak planted the seeds and, with a little coaxing, they took root. With a fair ration of honey mead each day, they thrived. Soon winter melon vines overwhelmed the small plot Albiderak had staked for them in the garden. They more than obscured the cottage’s brick walls; they engulfed the entire structure. For three seasons now Albiderak hadn’t needed to rethatch the roof. Even in winter, when the leaves were off and the stems died back to a woody brown, the vines tangled so tightly across the roof that not a single drop of rain or melted snow could seep through. Continue reading

100 Words, Day 3: Out of the Hold, Into the Water

The undertow pulled at Marlowe before the water reached his chest. Peters held out the respirator, but Marlowe didn’t reach for it. If he let go of the handholds, the current would rip him loose. He wasn’t ready for that. Instead, Marlowe opened his mouth. Peters wedged the rubber mouthpiece… Continue reading