Mystery

The Shoe Shiner
1 –An Introduction to Shining Shoes Frank started out on the busiest corner he could think find. It was downtown of course. It was less about the cars going by and more about the foot traffic. The shopping district was of course the most logical choice. Halloween was approaching and then the holiday season would be in full swing. More shoppers, more good cheers, more giving. And for Frank, that meant more money. It therefore behooved the young man of thirteen years old to set his plan in motion as soon as he could. It seemed like a good opportunity and a young man always needed more money. He would soon find something much more valuable, however. But that comes later.
By Floyd Doolittle3 years ago in Fiction
This Place. Runner-Up in Reset Your Password Challenge. Top Story - January 2023.
Atticus Black. A glassy reflection to it that made him think of beached whales, slick with oil after a tanker spill. He blew smoke down into it and watched it swirl and linger like a fog. Slowly, it faded and the features of his face reappeared in disjointed form, fragmented in the rippled liquid. Fragmented, he thought. Pulled apart. The liquid settled further and his face came into clear view within it. Broken. He pulled on his cigarette, exhaled and brought the coffee to his lips.
By Dean F. Hardy3 years ago in Fiction
All for a smile
It was just two clicks, two clicks and she would be free of it. But she made a mistake and for sure to change she would have to go through all the procedures. Sure enough, he was on the other side of the screen thinking he is a Robin Hood or Jesus Christ, damn it.
By Emilly Hipolito3 years ago in Fiction
As A Shadow Thickens
It’s difficult for us to remember a time before things were controlled. Sacha says all the books are lies and there never was such a time; bots were always and will always be the steady rhythm of life. I don’t mind either way. I’m glad I have spent my twenty-five years here fully. Then, for my next twenty-five, maybe I’ll just enjoy things. Sacha says our passwords are really just a compliance measure for our continued admittance in the world; he says a lot of weird things.
By Thor Grey (G. Steven Moore)3 years ago in Fiction
The Connection
The internet has opened up a whole new world for humanity. It has connected us like never before and enabled the sharing of unprecedented amounts of information. This has allowed us to make rapid progress as a society… unless you’re an idiot like me who use the vast powers of the internet to do something as foolish as creeping on someone. I say that as I sit in front of the screen, scrolling through the Facebook page of a girl I liked 20 years ago. I know it’s horrible. I know I shouldn’t be doing it. She probably wouldn’t appreciate some random guy creeping her on Facebook. Yet here I am anyways. So what is it about this girl that I’m willing to break social taboos for? I met her 20 years ago and thought we had a great connection, but due to a serious case of paralysing fear and nervousness, I messed up at the moment that I was supposed to ask her out. Although time has faded my memory of it somewhat, that mistake continues to haunt me to this very day. I strongly believed that she was the ‘one.’ I’ve met other girls after her, sure, but each new person I meet only seems to reinforce how perfect she is compared to them. I’m probably wrong. Maybe my admiration of her is just in my head and has no basis in reality. But I can’t help the way I feel. To me, there was no coming back from that mistake. That was a pivotal moment in my timeline - where it split into two different futures: the one where I end up with the girl of my dreams and the one where I am now - alone and unable to move on from something that happened a long time ago. The scary thing about the internet is how it makes it almost impossible to move on. Despite how it sounds, I’m not blaming the technology though. I‘m perfectly aware that it’s really my own stubbornness that’s making it impossible to move on. Unfortunately, my awareness of my stubbornness does little to motivate me to overcome it. To make matters worse, now that I’ve found her on social media, I’m too afraid to act on it. Looking at her page, I can infer from the information that’s accessible to me that she’s probably happily married, with a family of her own. 20 years is a long time. In that time she lived her life fully, while I’ve been stuck in limbo. I’m just hoping for one last miracle. I’ve decided to do it. After lurking for so long, I’m finally going to send a friend request.
By Ghostface Writer3 years ago in Fiction
Life On the Other Side
For nearly two years, the government encouraged many companies to cease their operations or operate at only a fraction of their capacity to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus. With the reopening, Tracy suddenly wanted to travel, visit a restaurant, stay at a hotel, and do other fun stuff. Tracy experienced a “Rip Van Winkle” effect after sheltering in place for so long.
By Anthony Chan3 years ago in Fiction
Alice's journey to the magical land
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a young girl named Alice. She lived in a small village at the foot of a great mountain, with her parents and her older brother. Her parents were simple folk, and they worked hard to make a living, but they were loving and kind, and they did their best to give Alice and her brother a good life.
By Yoganan3 years ago in Fiction
Fare Thee Well
Zeke shuffled down the concrete corridor with Gantry, the head prison guard, on his right and Father Curtis to his left. At thirty-four years old, his life was represented by three granite monuments in the City cemetery. Three bank executives working late, and an explosive intended to blow open a safe, had ended his life of greed built on arrogance. His death penalty conviction had blown apart the myth of banker's hours. The death chamber awaited him at the end of the hall, where he would be put to sleep like a rabid dog.
By J. S. Wade3 years ago in Fiction
The Program
Looking at the clock, I see it’s almost 10 a.m. I have called my handler every hour on the hour since six o’clock this morning. Four hours, that’s the amount of time I must give them to call me back. At the end of the fourth hour, I’m supposed to call the back-up line. I hate calling the back-up line. I’ve never been given good news when I’ve had to use it.
By razornale3 years ago in Fiction
Reset Your Password: The Key of Reset
I wake up to the sound of my alarm blaring in my ear. I groggily reach for my phone to reset my password, as I do every morning. But as I enter my usual code, I'm met with an error message.
By Innominaire3 years ago in Fiction
The Mystic Rock
Steve was having a regular routine summer day. He had come back from his school and started his research on rocks. Steve loves rocks. His phone chimed at that time with a new notification. He got distracted and was on his phone, like any typical 10th grader would do... He hopped on his computer to find out more about the new notification and started watching the new show on Netflix.
By Sankaran Somasundaram3 years ago in Fiction
Surprise!
"Reset your password." "You've got to be kidding me" Julianna spat, throwing her notebook to the side. She had anticipated there would be some issues, or kickback. But this was the last thing she was anticipating. She was hoping to be in and out, nice and quick. Nobody would even know she was even there. But then of course there was the password. And not only was there a password, but her three guesses had been unsuccessful, and was prompted to reset the password.
By Lindsay Dewolfe3 years ago in Fiction