 He hunts under cover of darkness. When the house falls silent, he creeps across bedroom floors. Easing up, peering over mattresses containing bodies at rest. Wide maws snore and closed eyes flit. They’re never aware of his presence. Eight furry legs crawl up one limp arm, heading toward chapped lips. Lisa H. Owens Created for an Inner Circle Writers' Group 50-word Flash Fiction Friday. September 10, 2021
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Story One: "Obsessive Compulsive Dis-Order" She shuts the door, spins and “click” locks the deadbolt. She plops down in her Prius and cranks the engine. She carefully backs down the driveway. Did she lock the door? She pulls back in to check. Locked. She backs out again. Did she lock the door? This goes on for a while. *** Story Two: “Tea Party” Wearing his tuxedo (pinky extended), he poured tea. Then, using tiny silver tongs, dropped two sugar cubes into each cup. “Chantilly needs three cubes,” the girl demanded. He complied. “Anything else, Madam?” “Chantilly needs two cookies. Then, off with your head!” Chantilly’s button eyes taunted and accused. He was dismissed, “Carry on, Daddy.” By Lisa H. Owens Inspired by a September, 2021 Press 53-Word Theme Prompt : September, 2021 - 53-Words: Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! After August comes September. That’s important to agree upon for any calendar arrangements. The 53-Word Society accepts stories through September 15, written by homo sapiens (see taxonomic rank). Content remains at the sole discretion of the author. Create your own menu, so to speak. Now, go forth, write, and submit! Write a 53-word story about an order. She paces back and forth, her “need” stronger than ever this morning as she wrings hands riddled with sun-damage. Working hands that belie her age. She needs a fix—now. Detoxing. Jonesing. The drip-drip-drip stops abruptly and she spins to face her foe. A worn out Keurig needing a good descaling. Lisa H. Owens Created for an Inner Circle Writers' Group 50-word Flash Fiction Friday. September 3, 2021 They huddled on a floor slickened by blood and excrement. The fuselage shuddered, hurtling over tarmac hot enough to melt wheels. Vibrations reached critical levels while hands, seeking stability, clenched ropes and duct-tape There were no flight attendants instructing them to lock seatbacks upright as they escaped into cloudless skies. By Lisa H. Owens Created for an Inner Circle Writers’ Group 50-word Flash Fiction Friday. 8/27/2021  [Beefsteak Tomato: I killed it.] Caged leaves and tiny yellow flowers beckoned me to take a chance. Surely, I could maintain what the gardener started. My prized possession basked in the morning sunlight. Lovingly attentive, I watered, fertilized, and as fruit began to blacken, desperately searched Google. A lone survivor sliced into my salad. The $20 Beefsteak Tomato. By Lisa H. Owens Inspired by an August, 2021 Press 53-Word Theme Prompt : August 2021 - There is a little jellyfish that is effectively immortal thanks to their ability to transform their own cells. Bananas have no such talent. We seem somewhere in between. Statistically, the month of August tends to capture the most human births. Some 9% of you will add a candle to your cake this month. Write a 53-word story about ripening.  [photo courtesy of press53.com] A pitiful man, a crusty stump where his hand should be, scurries furtively by the railroad tracks. He died fighting in 1942, protecting his family as they were beaten into a gore-filled boxcar. Evacuation. "Umsiedlung nach Osten," the lie. He exists in a state of turmoil, wandering tracks. Gazing osten, toward the sunrise. By Lisa H. Owens Inspired by a July, 2021 Press 53-Word Theme Prompt : Challenge: July’s birthstone is the ruby. "Ruby" comes from the Latin word ruber, meaning “red.” If you add the letter b, we get “rubber,” which is named for being efficient at rubbing off pencil marks. "Pencil" rhymes with "tinsel" and some people celebrate Christmas in July. What was I saying? I’ve gotten off track. Write a 53-word story about a train  [photo courtesy of press53.com] Whistle while you work, my credo. I loved my job. A dot of rouge here; a dab of concealer there, bringing out beauty that once was. Achieving a lifelike glow on the cheeks of the dearly departed. I teased limp hair into a halo framing a now angelic face, whistling a little ditty. Inspired by a June, 2021 Press 53-Word Theme Prompt : Whistling is hard to teach. It usually goes: “Just make a circle with your lips and blow.” And soon after, “Yeah, kinda.” Whistles, themselves, are easier. June celebrates milk, bourbon, smoothies, moonshine, iced tea, martinis, rosé, the Dark ’N’ Stormy, cider, and general hydration, so there’s plenty of occasion to wet yours. Poo-tee-weet? Write a 53-word story about a whistle.  His sentence was death by a million words. At least, that's how it felt to him. A stream of never ending sentences. His world silent, her hands signed her unhappiness. He was doomed to forever watch hands gesticulating and fluttering. To read cryptic messages on her lips for eternity. Silence wasn't always golden. By Lisa H. Owens Inspired by a May, 2021 Press 53-Word Theme Prompt Challenge: [Sentence] William Faulkner once avoided the period for more than 1,200 straight words. Jonathan Coe put off using one for nearly 14,000. There are entire books, in myriad languages and genres, containing only a single period. Each author understood their own unique motivation, but perhaps they all regarded it as a little dot prison. Write a 53-word story about a sentence.  "Taste this. It's your mother's recipe." He kissed me, then complied—always sweet after an incident. I gingerly palpated my swollen eye, watching as his face lit up. "Perfect! Like Mom's." The apple didn't fall far from the tree. His father had a pension for Mom's Special Sauce. Hair-loss was the first sign. By Lisa H. Owens Inspired by an April, 2021 53-word story prompt. Challenge: Taste - April 2021 Prompt: Fools are known for their imprudence. They may suffer from harmless derangement. They may be a court jester. Merriam-Webster informs that a fool is also a cold dessert of pureed fruit with whipped cream. So, if someone says, “I ate a delicious fool last night,” be careful, but they probably just mean parfait.Write a 53-word story about something tasty.  [Image courtesy of Wikipedia] A March 2021 53-Word Story Prompt - "Fossils" “Curiosities & Various Sundry,” caught my eye in electric-lime. Inside, a plethora of oddities priced to sell: Megalodon Shark-Tooth—Authenticity Guaranteed! [$9.99], Ancient Gall-Mites—Preserved in Amber! [$5.50 two-fer $10.00], Alien Footprint—Immortalized in Plaster! [$19.99]. Credit cards accepted! I left with something more elusive. A pack of Teaberry Gum. Cost? One quarter. By Lisa H. Owens Inspired by a March, 2021 53-word story prompt. Challenge: The Ides of March is familiar. Beware! However, “ides” does not come up that often elsewhere. That makes it a fossil word: in use thanks to a particular phrase, but otherwise obsolete. Ides is kith and kin with “petard,” “druthers,” and, well, “kith”—relegated to the dusty files of lingual archaeologists. Good “riddance?" Without further “ado,” write a 53-word story about fossils.  A February 2021 53-Word Story Prompt - "Draft" A gentle touch. I awaken, always 3 am. Rising, leaving quilted warmth, shuffling to the bathroom. Something settling in my vacated spot as I leave my love, snoring lightly. Shuffling back to bed, curtains flutter as The Something passes over-then-through my body. My husband whispers, “I thought you were still in bed.” Goosebumps. By Lisa H. Owens A Press 53 Monthly Theme Challenge "Draft." Story inspired by a true event. February, 2021 |