The Word Worker

Tag: Fiction

  • New

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    I could almost imagine I was back home in Spruce Falls. The gravel crunching beneath my feet. The whisper of foliage in the silent wind. Fluttering wings, scritching and rustling of undergrowth dwellers, twittering and chattering far overhead. Then I open my eyes to… pink. The Overseers insist I’ll get used to it. I’m not…

  • Mirror, Mirror

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    Good morning, my queen. Your wish is my command. You wish to know the fairest in the land? Of course you! Who else possess this marble perfection? (The aroma of your conceit sends delicious shivers through my bones. I drink it like wine, intoxicating ether.) What thwarts your smile of ice, Majesty? Does trust in…

  • Not a Fairy Tale

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    Once upon a time… Oh please, not that trite old beginning again! Well it did happen once upon a time. How else would you like me to begin? As I struggled for breath, I reflected on the events that led to my current situation. O-kay…  Anyway, in an ancient oak in the center of an…

  • The Watch

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    The sound of the sailors’ feet shifting against the boards grated on the silence. A whispered prayer floated unintelligibly over the water, blending with the fog like something unearthly and dreadful. There should have been waves noisily licking below, the creak of rigging in the shift of the wind. Edwin closed his eyes, his hands…

  • Checkers

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    He sat down across from old Fred, legs dangling even in the spindly little chair, and watched the old man with owlish eyes. As if his gaze exerted some sort of force, Fred raised his hat brim enough to peer under it at the boy. “Well?” “How ’bout a game?” The boy leaned back and…

  • Gods of Pompeii

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    “Tilda, I think we found another set!” Mario fiddled with a button on his shirt, waiting for his partner to dig herself out of her usual mound of paperwork. “I can’t imagine what they were doing way up here.” “What strange poses!” Tilda observed, leaning over his shoulder to view the monitor. “I can barely…

  • Blog Thursday Prompt: The Kettle

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    “It’s not my fault! The kettle began it!” “Please, do go on. How exactly did the kettle begin it?” “Weelll… it just sat there so… so… sitty!” “I see. It was ‘sitty.’ And the problem with that is what, exactly?” “Sitting is just so boring! How could it just not do anything?” “So, you decided…

  • Desire

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    Marble is dark, silent, and cold. My roots tenuous anchor hold. Sing the song of the stars with me. Can you not hear our harmony? Come with me, in the shadows dance. Stardust and bud, a sweet romance. How shall I venture there alone? I fear the lure of earth and stone. I cannot fly…

  • Sunset

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in

    The deep rays surrounded her, burning deep into her skin. Her tears were flame, paths of umber scoring her cheeks. She screamed at the sea below, at the calm waves whispering against the rocks. Her hands trembled on the railing, knuckles white and stiff against the gray wood. Where was the peace promised? Where were…

  • FWG Blog Thursday: Famous First Lines

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    This week’s response is provided by my kids. Following are two different stories using the prompt. Aside from a small amount of editing, these stories come straight from them and are written in their own voices. I hope you enjoy them. Thor’s Hammer, by Isaiah All this happened, more or less. I’ll fill you in…