Short Stories

#9 – Termite

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Don’t stop – no time. Keep hunting, keep going, keep working. No time. Don’t pause: they’re counting on me. What if I stop? No! Never stop. Stop and you die. Stop and you fall to the dark place below: to the mound of rotting corpses forgotten, spent; fodder for the roots of the trees on which we feast. No: keep going, stay useful, stay relevant. Never stop. Straighten my tie, switch on the screen, drink the coffee and rock no boats.  Protect the hive, protect the Queen:  a good little worker, always.

(c) Tim Austin 2016

What a word to be handed!  Thanks to the charming force of nature that is Aliki Chapple – Actor, Luddite, proud Grecian and Activist.  You can find her on stage with The Rose Company or on Twitter at @amaenad 

Got a word you’d like me to write about?  Tell me in the comments section or tweet me at @timaustin2k using the hashtag #onewordonestory 

Don’t forget to hit that follow button for tomorrow’s story: Rainbow!

This entry was posted in Contemporary and tagged , , , , , , , .

#8 – Orb

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Starscape Jeremy Thomas

I saw such worlds that day.  Skies of burnt orange and mountains of glass: rings of glittering crystal stretching from horizon to horizon.  Seas made of joy lapped at sands of pain and loss: footprints of creatures unknown to me slowly sinking to nothing.  All of this captured in the dark of my master’s room, shining from the sphere I held in my palm.

A footstep on a stair shook my rapture.  A presence behind me chilled my spine. 

The jewel shattered when he struck me down.  

Now, in my blindness, those worlds live only in my dreams.

(c) Tim Austin 2016

Today’s word, Orb, was suggested by the magnificently talented Adam York Gregory – Artist, Animator and Thoroughly Good Egg.  You can find him at http://aworkinghypothesis.co.uk/ and on Twitter @Adam_Y 

If you want to suggest a word, pop something in the comments or tweet the word using the hashtag #onewordonestory.

See you tomorrow for “Termite”.

This entry was posted in Fantasy and tagged , , , , , , , , .

# 7 – Ache

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Tarmac flew beneath Stephen’s feet, the last mile inching to a stuttering, shuffling end.  He was in hell.  The heat was scorching against his face and his fuzzy owl costume sloshed with sweat.  A ball of pain welled and burned in his chest, his limbs leaden and gummed in treacly fatigue.  But now the finish line was in sight, the roar from the crowd dull and distant in his ears.  There she was: her watery gaze peeking over the top of her cannula, her banner waving over her wheelchair.  Stephen the Owl: Marathon runner, couch potato.  Hero.

(c) Tim Austin 2016

Today’s word, “Ache”, was suggested by the beautiful Lori Bannerman – Performance Poet, Storyteller and Liver of “The Dream”.  You can find out more about her at http://bardicatheatre.com/

I’m always searching out new words to write about: if you have one, put it in the comments or tweet it using the hashtag #onewordonestory.  See you tomorrow for “Orb“.

This entry was posted in Tuggin' The Heartstrings and tagged , , , , .