The Word Worker

Tag: Flash fiction

  • The Lamplighter

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    He walked the streets in the dusk, the invisible bringer of light. Dawn and twilight, his two-headed staff tapping the cobblestones with each step. For forty years now he had walked the streets and alleyways, the stones of the old wall familiar friends now. Fifteen steps from lamp to lamp, his feet knew on their…

  • The Mirror Image

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    The Mirror Image raced the storm. She was the fastest sail on the bay, but this was the greatest race of her career. A race with the wind itself. It was a beautiful storm. The sun rose gold ahead of her, lighting the water with its false promises of the day ahead. Behind her, dark…

  • The Bench

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    It was perfectly placed, halfway down the walking trail along the river, looking out at the park across the water. The city’s most popular view. In the morning the sun rose behind it over the skyscrapers, leaving it in the shadows as people hurried to work, but in the evenings… oh, the evenings! The river…

  • Dreamcaught

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in

    She flew above the world, reveling in the wind that buffeted her. She didn’t know how, she only knew she was. The river tossed her against the rocks; her head hurt and water filled her lungs. “Hush, dear, don’t cry,” her mother soothed, stroking her hair. “Everything will be alright, you’ll see.” She buried her…

  • The Warp

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in , ,

    The city burned. Well, technically speaking, cities, since there seemed to be several versions all at once. It had started on Times Square. Everyone on the street suffered the same blinding headache at the exact same moment, and when they recovered the billboards had been replaced with the original New York Times building. Brand spanking…

  • The Fountain

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in

    The river was placid and cold, wide against the narrow horizon.  The deepening autumn chill had turned the trees a bright orange that lit up the river brighter than a forest fire. He set his boots against the rough rocks that formed the bank, the crunch of stone against stone amplified by the surface of…

  • Daniella and the Lions

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    Now, then, Leo, it is time for our story. It’s bedtime, you know, and you must lie down quietly and listen. Teddy came to keep you company and remind you to be good. Zara, don’t you mess up, now, you know Leo hates it when you crowd. Now, what shall we read tonight? I know…

  • The Memorial

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    There they hung, the uniforms, lining the hallway where they had hung all my life. It would be the last time he walked past them for many months, probably years. He took it slowly, pausing before each one to remember. First the cuffed olive green of his great-great-grandfather’s, the pockets fraying away and the seams…

  • The Leaving

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in , , ,

    She had waited for this day for twelve years. Every time an Underage met his or her Milestone, she had followed them up the tracks as far as she was allowed, dreaming of her own Milestone. This morning, her twelfth Day, Da had woken her before Lights, a ready bag in hand. She had dressed…

  • The Flower Girl

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    She was my friend, but no one knew about her. She said no one would believe me anyway, so I never told anyone. Until now. Maybe you won’t think I’m crazy. Her name was Daisy, but I called her my flower girl. She was so pretty in her white dress with a clover chain draped…