Microfiction
A Minute's Range
The clock in the room started to chime, filling the room with its harmonic song. The tune disrupts the somber, heavy silence of the veterinary exam room. A mature woman with dark hair secured in a sloppy, rushed ponytail and dull, haphazard clothing tenderly petting a tortoiseshell cat lying dolefully on a fluffy blanket on the exam table. These two were no strangers here but relatively frequent guests. The patient had been living with Feline Epilepsy with remarkably high spirits and relative success until recently. The medications were becoming increasingly less effective, and the seizures considerably more violent and traumatic for both of them. The woman was caressing the plush fur of her faithful feline’s back as salty rivers flowed freely. Her free hand shifted to grasp its paw gently, brushing her thumb rhythmically over the top. Even in its sedated state, they purred softly, its ears twitching to the shaky reassurance of a familiar cracking voice. A female veterinarian stood at the end of the table where she had prepared the necessary materials with a dismal expression. The smell of a fragrant candle only adds to the impossibly heavy atmosphere. Its fragrance is floral and calming in a moment that is anything but as the flame flickers and burns steadily. The most difficult decision that every pet parent dreaded had come. Salty rivers flow more as the vet moves to the back of the pet. A part of her job that she wishes was not inevitable.
By Kira Kagamin2 years ago in Fiction
Two Wrinkles In Time. Top Story - May 2024.
It is pointless to run, my darling, because sixty seconds ago, I will kill you. My blade will have sliced reality open right in front of you. It will have first pierced it as it would a bed sheet left hanging to dry, flapping in the wind on a Sunday afternoon. But the metal will have drawn a line in the air that the ghostly tear will have followed. Then I, La Dyablès, machete firmly in hand, will have emerged from what your mind, at the time, could only interpret as the other side of here—whatever that means to you. I know. I have seen that look on the faces of countless unlucky… clients. You will not have been the first nor the last to try and reneg on a riches for soul contract only to present this visage to me when I come to collect.
By Lily Séjor2 years ago in Fiction
Royal Misfortune. Content Warning.
The banished princess had been living off the land for several weeks, by now. The forest was still testing her, showing little sympathy, but each evening felt less and less like death. Perhaps someday it could feel like home, she mused. Maybe after some time had passed she could venture into civilization in search of an ally. For the moment, she was on her own, and she was doing alright.
By Rebekah Conard2 years ago in Fiction
A Whole Day
¶ The clock above the door read 10:02. ¶ As Mr. Sorin, the geography teacher, rambled on about some tristate area half a country away, Jake stared at the blackboard, trying to make sense of the map. The teacher, in his brilliance, had drawn the map sideways, with the compass to North pointing lazilily off to the right. Indeed, the teacher had gone the extra mile to turn the N into a Z, to match the orientation.
By Malcolm Roach2 years ago in Fiction
Exploring the Frontier: Unveiling the Wonders of Artificial Intelligence. Content Warning.
Amidst the consistently changing mechanical scene and the wide expansiveness of the mechanized world, there is a characteristic that has mixed both supernatural occurrence and fear: man-made thinking (reproduced knowledge).
By Kamran Butt2 years ago in Fiction
