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Latest Stories

December 22, 2025
General Stories Tom Kropp

Messiah In The Congo

Booming thunder and pouring rain rocked the L.A. night like a hurricane. White lightning flashed across the black sky, illuminating the dark clouds rolling by. Below the rolling heavens soared long, flowing streams of light that were hovercars in flight,…
December 22, 2025
Crime Stories Tom Kropp

Murderers Meet Mongrel

Lily didn't think her new doorbell and little dog would save her life, but both did. Lily was a lovely little Latina, 21 years old. Her little mutt had been named Foxy, due to her fox coloring. Lily's new doorbell frightened Foxy so much that she ran and hid…
December 22, 2025
General Stories Tom Kropp

Foxy's Doorbell Destruction

Lily didn't think her new doorbell and little dog would save her life, but both did. Lily was a lovely little Latina, 21 years old. Her little mutt had been named Foxy, due to her fox coloring. Lily's new doorbell frightened Foxy so much that she ran and hid…
December 22, 2025
Poetry Paweł Markiewicz

The 11 Dazzling Verses

The dreameries need Blue Hours. The Blue Hours would need a sun's afterglow. The red sky in the evening longs for a delight. The delight wants a homeland. The native land wanted a literature. The writings are willing to manifest a reality. The epiphany was…
December 22, 2025
Crime Stories Tom Kropp

Murder And Manslaughter

Felipe was born poor in a shack in Honduras. His family all lived in the same room with a dirt floor and considered themselves lucky to have electricity. But they didn't have indoor plumbing. They had to use an outhouse. They used a communal pump for safe…
December 22, 2025
General Stories Matias Travieso-Diaz

The Annoyingly Loud Monkey

I decline all noisy, wordy, confused, and personal controversies. Josiah Warren Johnny was an aging Venezuelan red howler (Alouatta seniculus), a fat, medium-sized, male monkey that inhabited the northern edge of the rainforests of tropical South America. His…
December 22, 2025
Flash Fiction A.H. Leclerc

The Lady Of Avalon

This is the story of the Lady of Avalon, first wielder of Excalibur, spiritual precursor of Arthur Pendragon. She had had a lover once. Pwill was his name. A kind soul at one with Nature, who spoke to his horse like they were dearest friends (which they were)…
December 22, 2025
General Stories Thomas Turner

Chicago Bound

Chicago bound: He and his wife are taking a train to Chicago, to be at a concert. It is thrilling for both of them. Charles tells his wife “This is going to be great.” Lana, his wife, who is the singer for the Chicago concert, said “You know, I am going to…
December 22, 2025
Poetry Markus J

Santa's Dilemma

the jolly old man Santa claus- broke the north poles workers by laws- the elf's toiled all night and day- for a daily pittance called their pay. reported by his brother-in-law- was this the end of old Mr clause- with the elf's downing their tools to go on…
December 22, 2025
Flash Fiction Kashif Imdad

Emma's Fury

Following the catastrophic world war that left humanity on the brink of extinction, Survivors rebuilt establishing communities amidst the devastated terrain. Roaming gangs of men, referred to as the slavers, dominated the wastelands, abducting people and…
December 22, 2025
Crime Stories Tom Kropp

Murder And Blood Counts

She stepped in front of me blocking my path. I could see that the red-haired, hot hooker was bad news. Obeying instinct, I tried sidestepping her. “Hold on Kole. We need to talk. Look in my eyes!” she demanded. A primal part of me assumed she probably had a…
December 15, 2025
Flash Fiction Michelle Pauls

To RFK, Jr: The Autistic Poet Writes About Pennies

In her bedroom, the young woman walks back and forth, consistently, intently, while eyeing a large ceramic container of pennies nearby. Its purple outer shell is slightly cracked, revealing some unknown material underneath. It is in the center of the room and…

It was supposed to just be a joke.  Really…

Josh, Pat and Casey drove over to the house of Rachel Vessing with the intent of play a bit of a joke on her 17th birthday.  The “mooning” of the attractive redhead while singing “happy birthday” was intended to in fun.   They were sure that Rachel won’t be offended and would take the gesture in the manner intended.

Hey, it was just a joke, right?  But unbeknownst to the boys, Rachel’s father, the Reverend Josiah Vessing, was at home that night and not at bible study as was usually the case for a Wednesday evening in the fall.  The widower was protective of his only daughter so what happened was not totally unexpected.  So the boys were surprised when both Rachel and Reverend Vessing opened the door.  Turned around and bent over, the boys thought that just Rachel was there when she gasped “oh my god” at the sight of their bare buttocks.  But they quickly realized their mistake when they heard a male voice boom out “what the hell??”

Fleeing off the porch while simultaneously trying to buckle their pants, boys might have been a bit too distracted to hear the reverend’s final comment to them as they ran off his property.

 

“That is not what I was talking about last week when I said that we all need to turn the other cheek…”

 

 

The End

 

Author’s Bio:   Tom Schmidt is a Chemical Engineer working in medical diagnostics in upstate New York.  He enjoys creative writing and has been published on www.short-story.me as well as on www.fartherstars.com and in www.overmydeadbody.com in the past.  He is currently working on the “Paul Garigan Crime Mysteries”, a collection of short stories centered around a Malibu based police detective which he hopes to publish in the future.  Tom can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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