* This piece is a response to Rob Wilcher’s beautiful poem “Carry the Water”. The stream eddies, as his hand drifts. …
* This piece is a response to Rob Wilcher’s beautiful poem “Carry the Water”. The stream eddies, as his hand drifts. …
Jenna could not believe her luck as she followed Jeremy down the sandy wooden path that led to the beach. Was this …
They say your life flashes before you when you die. They are wrong. It’s your future you see. Like when you lean …
The boy watched the old man crouched By the pool in the sun stirring the water With an even hand. He was …
The shooting started at around 4.30 pm; most of the neighbourhood mothers had herded their kids inside and were probably doing what …
Fred takes one of the nails he holds between his lips and places it against the timber, hammering it home with far …
“MUM. Did you send it?” Clara’s twelve-year-old selfishness stole her thoughts … again. “Are you listening to me?” Her daughter stomped her …
‘Chintana darling, I’m going to be late tonight. Please don’t wait up for me.’ ‘Alright Auntie Tok, have a great night. Don’t …
For Oliver The little seed is still, black, alone. He lays flat against the earth; waiting. Waiting for what? For the right …
Saint Valentine of Rome was a priest, In the 3rd century AD, But the specific day of his feast – The 14th …
It was a song oft repeated around the sly grog shops and two-up schools of the great metropolis. Some say Jim Grey …
‘You’ll need this, Inspector,’ said the officer manning the door to the freezer room. He handed the Inspector a heavy padded jacket, …
That Dickens bloke lied. Yes, it was the worst of times, the best of times, etc etc, and yes, the world was …
‘Have you balanced yet, Lothar? We can’t be staying here all evening.’ ‘Almost, Herr L-Langmann,’ said Lothar, his cheeks flushing red. He …
“Me, me, me, me, me, me, me.” Val can hear them as they flit between the soft cream lounges and the clinking …
The box is light as always. But that means very little. It’s what’s inside that counts. Don’t judge a book by its …
Joe stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel. He threw the towel over his head and rubbed really hard …
I never saw the murderer that Christmas day. Bonnie did, and Moss – or so they said. Mama told me not to …
Tom looked out the window from his large and luxurious hotel bed. The Tokyo skyline was strangely eerie. The aircraft warning lights …
My immediate thought when I first set eyes on her was not ‘what a warm smile’ or ‘I love the dual pigtail …
See this woman. Maybe viewed as doing okay by some. Lives in a cramped rented flat near Botany with her two …
How could he not know? “Why, why, why?” he howls till I silence him. A slither of red dribbles from my father’s …
“What size jacket: thirty-four?” Pink cuticles expertly retrieve a black suit from the rack. “Oh no way,” I reply, confident my last …
“Close your eyes,” molasses smooth, his voice beckons. Spidery fingers stroke my papery cheeks. Liquid slurps from a flask at my bedside. …
‘Mum, will I be okay at school tomorrow?’ Georgina asked her mother whilst holding tightly onto her mother’s waist. ‘Oh sweetheart, I …
“Good grief, witches,” said the old professor as he descended the old wooden stairs to the basement. The four harridans seated around …
She’s here! God, I can’t do this. ‘Hi, Jessica, we met…’ Too earnest. ‘Hi Jess, remember me? From …’ I’m the completely …
Poor old farmer Joe never stood a chance. Wiping the remnants of the morning’s fried egg from the corner of his mouth …
After the funeral the girl’s mother won’t let her go near the old man who has been sitting at the back …
Coins cascade into the parking meter. The dial spins. Half an hour in the oxy tank will flush the toxins. Post-nuclear air …
The pew is shiny and hard beneath her fingers as she curls them beside her tucked knees. She leans forward, eager to …
“Marry me?” His loud plea is swallowed by the cold gray of giant housing blocks. Windows slam shut. Blinds drop. I twitch. …
Draygon hated drone fighting. The Moon, Mars, Neptune, it was always the same despite climatic differences: the drones always got so covered …
“More salmon, Jake!” The American launched a fat arm across the table to grab the only platter of fish, sending a 1980 …
No, no, no! I scuttle left, right, back, forward, my antennae twitch frantically searching for the rich dark warmth of the earth. …
Jerry closed the basement door behind him and listened to the clinking of chains on the other side of the door. He …
Hell is other people. – Sartre There’s no denying it: Vanya’s a hero. Brave and fearless, he returned from the …
Ben was puffing from having sprinted down the platform. Thirty years ago he wouldn’t have raised a sweat, but now his legs …
I. I am going to Turkey. Post covid, of course. When – I don’t know. Where – mainly Istanbul. How …
The door whines shut as heaving workman lever the latches shut. Finally, it’s dark. “Are they gone?” A tiny twelve-inch monitor blinks …
“I lub you too.” A four-year-old James said to his father with a little wave goodbye. He was excited to meet his …
You summon me with your constant chatter; loud, insistent, beckoning, as you weave and wander your way through the valley far below. …
Right or left? Both tracks from the junction taunt you. Both disappear into a heat that broils the earth. In both directions, …
When I bought my new dress you smiled cheekily, lasciviously. At my graduation you put your arm around me, And said, “she’s …
Mary hung the last pair of black cotton knickers from the laundry basket, onto the white clothes horse. She stood back and …
My pride, my joy My castle, sanctuary My home Dust, dirt, cracks Rust, leaks, gaps Fingers scrubbed, patched and painted …
“Forty Love. Match point,” John called out after his tennis partner on the other side of the net failed to return his …
Oh glorious, silver orb, your beams drip deep through the dank damp earth until they reach me here in my resting place. …
A drifter, my Pa had said. A young girl just passin’ through. I seen her next day in the big barn, watchin’ …
Abraham My blade is sharpened before you, oh God Most High. I am ready to use it. I am prostrate. I prostrate …
Andrew fingered the manuscript on the chipped formica table in front of him and looked out the cafe window for Vanya. St …
Terry looked up from behind his computer as his colleague entered the room. The neon from the tower opposite them spread a …
“Ping.” Busy, I’ll check that later. “Ping.” I really don’t have time for this. 1:20. Boss wants this report on his desk …
Tara loved living near the mangroves, where the tides rolled in and out every day. At high tide the water was bustling …
And, after all these years, she still can’t touch it. Snow. It makes it difficult, living in a mountainous atmosphere. Every …
It was worth it wasn’t it? The Lamborghini 350GT, the two mercs, the houses and farms, the fashion, oh my, the fashion, …
The Mountain Climber’s Beginning Let me tell you a story. Just three nights ago I was in a public bar, in …
Your neck is on the guillotine. Its sharpness gleams above you, the base is already cutting into your throat. You’re choking …
Mary left the coffee shop in Shanghai Pudong airport where she had spent the last hour passing the time. Her excitement grew …
Shadows – always the shadows! Do I seek them, or they seek me? They cast their imagination across drooping ribbon bark. Flicker, …
Caroline stepped off the greyhound bus and onto the dusty red earth. She threw her backpack onto the ground and watched a …
It was when Albert backed the car into the driveway and turned off the engine that he got stuck. It wasn’t the …
There was grumbling at the station The news had reached the men That their favourite cook, Asian Jack, had received the DCM. …
‘What you get is no tomorrow’ David Bowie, Fame After her best friend was killed in the Paris restaurant by ISIL …
This piece is an 800 words piece for a spoken voice competition: Entanglement – Voices of Women. https://voiceswomen.com/entanglement/. It was written in …
When we stop, blind bodies collapse in a mound of sick, sweat and BO. I scramble to breathe. Someone kicks me. Yusef …
“Dennis, Dennis.” “What is it, darling?” said the elderly man behind the shopping trolley to his wife who was hovering about like …
…A Tale Told in Triptych… CHAPTER 1: WHITE TSARINA After they told me my boy was a haemophiliac I believed I …
Cindy leant her weight to push open the heavy glass door that bore the words “Jessica Mulgrave, Solicitor” in gold plate at …
Henry listened to the soothing and rhythmic sound of the car tyres thumping on the road. The weather was great. He had not …
“The magic lasts only a couple of minutes. You’ve got to be ready, here it comes.” Dr. Tom Robertson said to himself …
Geoffrey stood on the roadside in the morning sun. Peak hour had just begun, and cars were starting to queue in the …
https://themovingpen.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Boreas-Street-3.m4a Sarah strides across the strip of hard black sand, her toes kicking at the pebbles. Like marbles in a schoolyard, …
“Oi, Scrubs, do us a solid will ya?” shouted the man in the overcoat to another some way ahead of him in …
Bradley, a five year old boy with too much energy for the day, looked out of the vast window of his apartment …
Life is short. According to palmistry, a lack of lifeline meant a short life. “Mary, your lifeline is so faint that I …
Three ghosts live in this toilet block. They were students of this school. It’s been said that you could see the long …
Another curry then. He’d rung and said, “Sorry love, work’s all over the shop. I’ll be late in.” She knew what that …
‘I didn’t expect you this early, Dad.’ She was as brittle as usual, a blonde shadow, sitting stiffly in the velvet gold …
Anna hung up the phone and punched the air “Yes, Yes, Yes!!” She pushed back her grey chair and danced on the …
Gav couldn’t decide what gave him more solace; the pistol in his right coat pocket or the bottle of poison in his …
You’re in the air, swirling, when a face gazes from the tiles below. Hitting the water, your perfect half-twist dive is knotted …
She kneels, her back heaving and pushing. Every muscle straining. Doc Martins scuff and push against the footpath. Passersby glance, then stop; …
Santa (real name Andrew Smith, employee name Ian Goldsworthy) beamed joy to the puddle of mums and prams and toddlers in his …
Ah yes, The Barnacles! Don’t they seem to just grow right out of the rocky shores of Sydney Harbour. Regular readers of …
“Oh good grief,” whispered Jennifer to husband Jason, “it’s Uncle Frank.” The waft came first, steaming feather meal and river mud, followed …
“Well fuck Scott Morrison anyway!” Laura bounded into the sitting room of the dilapidated share house in Bondi and slumped onto the …
“Gentlemen, please place your bets.” Marcia announced to her two younger siblings Tom and Peter as she laid out the table for …
‘For chrissakes, put it away!’ We winced as Aunty Vi bellowed at my cousin again, her voice as subtle as a dying …
Oh God, she was beautiful! Ra’s heart belted against his ribcage each time he thought of her – let alone his groin. …
“Have you got everything”? she asks. “A huh,” the small child nods, his pudgy arms gripping hard at the backpack hugged to …
The white fluorescent lights of the modern classroom hurt Harold’s eyes as he walked into his sixth form class after lunch. He …
THUMP! CRASH! A deafening sound broke the silence of another peaceful evening in the cosy home of Miriam. Miriam woke from her slumber …
From the other side I watch them enter the church. Sitting at the altar, beside the priest, just near the satiny …
I steer the ute out along a dirt track for a while and stop only when I feel it is safe. I …
“You know this woman?” Judith shoved the dog-eared photograph at the barman. He studied it and launched a chubby finger to her …
Geoffrey prodded the white surgical tape that held the plastic cover over his right eye. By dodging his head one way and …
Paradiddle, flam, blam, now the side tom, boom boom boom, kick drum, snare, sticks in the air, roll it ‘n’ swing, shake …
Laura clicked off the tv with the worn-out remote and tossed it onto the battered coffee table. She sighed and lent her …
‘Loonies speak their own language, like educated people.’ The Tree of Man, Patrick White Let’s just walk, let’s just …
Helena stepped back from the edge a second time. Breakers thudded against the rocks below and the sea-breeze ruffled the folds of …
The shade from the London plane trees does a good job of extracting the sting of the sun. Now winter is over …
The bar heaved with the heat of drinkers, talkers and hangers-on. At the far end of the space, beyond shadowed dancing hordes, …
“I’ll need you to drive,” said Dave when they arrived at his Audi. “I’ve got a couple of phone calls to make.” …
The old man turned the skiff homeward. It had not been a successful day. The sea had misled him. His pots were …
“Shona, why are you gripping the stern rail so tight? Are you seasick?” Oh Christ! It’s Veronica, the gym junkie. “Just enjoying …
Sho Sushi was a traditional Japanese restaurant nestled in the main street of a small fishing village west of Japan. An elderly …
It was my first time. The rifle was slippery in my fingers, and Jojo laughed when I nearly dropped it. I’d seen …
The crisp air assailed them as they stepped outside. Dawn had not yet appeared, and the sky was glass clear, the moon …
Back in his apartment, Geoffrey dialled the number of the only person he thought might understand his dilemma. “Dave, it’s Geoff.” “Geoffrey, …
“Show me where the diamonds are, Lehmann!” Lehmann’s face reddened under the throttle hold of the thug who held him over the …
“Shoes, sunshine, ships or shore Love me rich, love me poor.” It was a song her grandmother had taught her as a …
‘It’s hurting,’ mumbled the old man. He shuffled in the seat, closed his eyes to the fluorescent light above him. The …
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO JEREMY MANKIN? by DAVID SAFFORD Everyone in Whispering Harbor knew that Jeremy Mankin wasn’t fishing with the sharpest hook. …
Annie sat at the bottom of the stairs looking at the back of the blue front door, the house still reverberating from …
Ben sat uncomfortably on a lumpy chair in front of Mary, his company’s HR manager. “Ben, you need to tell your trainee …
As I approached my death I came upon a man seated On the stoop of the Doorway To the End of Life. …
Leo lay languidly under the acacia tree, picking at the morsels of meat caught between his molars. He thought about nothing in …
The evening had begun its descent into a sepia haze as they drove the dirt track through low sparse scrub. A red …
The assembled gods declared, “The Mortals mock us! We must combine our eternal fluids and make a god so awesome they will …
There is another test next week. Mel slumped over her desk feeling the dread. Then she remembered the rumours that had been …
‘Mum, I’m bored. Can we go to the shops?’ Corey’s mum held up her hand to shoosh him and told the Zoomed …
The stadium roars like a thunderbolt. So loud her chest vibrates. Are the heavens pulsating? Is it war out there, or just …
Mum says being dead is like being asleep except you don’t wake up. Which is silly. I have a sleepover at Andy’s …
It was a stormy Sunday night. When the lightning bolts lit up the sky, they revealed an eerie landscape shrouded by …
Hotel 25 – affectionately known as The Two and Five by its regular guests – was a squat boutique hotel hidden in …
Alex’s hands were steady as he unlocked the door to the empty house. Inside, he stood totally still, listening to the silence. …
Andrea sat at the large formal reception desk staring at her blood red nails and scrutinizing her cuticles. With the stark fluorescent …
The blue sky was striking. The fluffy white clouds resembled little bunnies waiting around for their mother. Tom was nine. He stopped …
‘I’m telling you, garbagemen can deal with anything. The smell of corpses, shit, rotten eggs. The worst stink in the world, …
Winter One winter’s day at sunset, four sulphur-crested cockatoos landed on my fence – one bird for each of the seasons. It …
I was a slight kid, some say cheeky, but not one of the muscular kids. There was one kid, a couple of …
There is that one dazzling slo-mo moment, when the kick goes up and the ball ascends towards the heavens, and with it, …
The white flash, then the savage crack of thunder, the flash again and the rain attacked the night. The storm had come. …
“Julianne, look what the cat dragged in. Over at Chanel,” said Suzanne, a coiffured blonde in charge of Lancôme. In front of …
An estimated five thousand people amassed in the plaza that day, some said more. Jess was one, masked, arm in arm with …
The brown squishy excrement slid down the bus window leaving a trail behind it, like a slug on a dewy morning. The …
Ilse cowers; her body trembles. All because she knows, immediately, who she has collided with while rounding the blitzed corner. Despite …
SCHOOL The funeral for her mother over the weekend gave Matilda a chance to see her cousin Susan again. They grew up …
Elias’s cheeks were burning. He strode down the corridor, barely looking at his father walking beside him. The sound of the rain …
The woman and the dog walked through the park. Viewed from afar, their various colours against the vibrant green of the spring …
What to do. What a to do. First thing, get out of bed. This involves sitting upright on the edge, in the …
TWO STORIES EACH AT 500 WORDS FOR EASY READING, by Rob Wilcher The Slave Five bedraggled slaves made their sorry way up …
MAY’S COLLECTION OF 100 WORD STORIES BY THE MOVING PEN AUTHORS * * * * * * * * Century by Paul …
Julie wrapped Ben’s uneaten dinner in tinfoil and placed it into the fridge with a sigh. She looked at last night’s dinner, …
Mary sinks a ball into the hole on the practice green. There are 30 minutes before her tee time. She will be …
You can’t bring her back you know. In the gloaming we queued, awaiting our deliverance from another week. The bus arrived just …
Mike strained as he planked, trying to resist the pull of gravity on his belly as it pulled on his tensed abdomen. …
Deedee’s been losing weight. She stands and watches herself in the mirror. Runs her hand down the sides of her nightie …
APRIL’S COLLECTION OF 100 WORD STORIES BY THE MOVING PEN AUTHORS * * * * * * * * Meeting by Rob …
Just a few days into the swimming program of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the world was astonished to see the …
Days and days and days and days have passed – years really – and yet people still look at him strangely when …
Ring Ring. Ring Ring. The phone shrieks. “Don’t pick up the phone.” Dad calls out. “Why?” I asked. “It’s grandma. She is …
Howard Hodgson paused at the entrance to the laneway to enjoy the busker who was belting out a blinding rendition of On …
Aine scanned around the dimly lit hotel ballroom. The bejewelled curtain backdrop behind the empty top table sparkled under the glow of …
The packed beer garden buzzed with the sound of Friday evening revellers. Office workers keen to shake the formality of the week …
Fermanagh, Ireland, 1593. The deluge washed every extremity of Hugh’s body while fresh mud camouflaged his legs to the thigh with …
Mike sat in the community hall and tossed up whether to tell the truth. It was shocking, he knew, that he was …
Jett pressed play on the CD and You ain’t Nothin’ but a Hound Dog rocked out across the empty rehearsal room. Normally …
O, this one was a beauty. A brilliant brazen mane, an enormous head, my god the power in those jaws as he …
We are a group of early writers who met at the Writer's Studio in Bronte, NSW (Australia) and want to showcase our creativity for the public to enjoy. Each of us has committed to producing a short story each month - that's roughly 4 or 5 stories each month.
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