Break From Reality. Daily.
This story is by KG and was part of our 2018 Summer Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. White crosses were scattered around the ancient wood bridge. Most were anonymous, but Tony Burns stood in front of one with a clear name carved into it. The area was quiet and…
This story is by KG and was part of our 2018 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. Thomas stares ahead, his fingers wrapped tight around the steering wheel. The mangled remains of a bike sit beneath his truck, illuminated by the metronomic blinking red light on the stop sign….
Henry stood in Rachel’s bedroom, holding the fiery red leaf he had picked up on his morning walk. He’d brought it as a gift but now he felt foolish standing in her room holding a leaf, even if it was beautiful. He placed it on the dresser and sat on the edge of the bed, where her scent lingered in the unmade sheets.
He knew what she would say: they had an agreement. A business transaction. Seven years was long enough to not arouse suspicion, but short enough that they could still find true love, if that’s what they wanted. Rachel had rolled her eyes and made quotation marks in the air at true love, as if anyone could believe in that fairy tale.
Henry dreaded the sound of his wife’s car pulling into the driveway, because it meant he had to tell her two days before their divorce he had somehow accidentally, amazingly, fallen in love with her.
Grace had never lived up to her name, which was why she found herself whimpering in front of the house she had accidentally set on fire. She was still gripping the matchbook she had discovered in her husband’s jacket, along with Tracy’s address and an invitation for Ryan to come over anytime scribbled on the inside. Judging from the many hearts scrawled at the end, that invitation did not include Grace.
She was headed for jail, all because she had knocked over a candle. It hadn’t been on purpose, but that probably didn’t matter when arson was involved. There was a loud pop from inside and Grace recoiled. She drew a deep breath and decided she would have to do the responsible thing, no matter how unpleasant. She was a mature adult. In the distance, sirens began to sound.
She dropped the matches and ran.
