Wow! What a year 2020 has been. The pandemic has upended life as we know it. I have been working from home since March. I've saved a fortune in petrol costs but I have really missed the social interactions with my wonderful team. And to cap it off, my job was made redundant in July. …
Today's story takes us on a trip to the circus. *** The Autumn Fair was the talk of the town as summer drew to a close. A week-long celebration of the changing of the season that heralded the run towards winter. It was an event marked on every calendar in every home in town, something …
This next collage inspired a story that felt like a logical follow-on from yesterday. *** Things hadn't been quite as rosy as he had first thought. Sure, California was sunnier than Chicago. Easier on the eye, too. But he hadn’t hit the big time. He could get a booking at a bar without any issue. …
Today's collage theme caught my eye. Please enjoy my short story that came from it. *** It was an unusually sunny morning in Chicago. Typical. The sun would make an appearance on the day he was leaving. He had grown up there, knew it like the back of his hand. But it wasn’t for him. …
Things have changed a little bit this week so I am finding my way again a little bit with the themes. No words to work with this time, just a small collage of images to take inspiration from. I've kept it short and simple, more of a story of thoughts, for this first run at …
I'm still playing catch up, but here is my offering for day 13. Somewhat disturbingly, I really enjoyed creating this short story! *** “Micah Andrews! Come in please.” The doctor called, his head and torso appearing through the open door. No sooner had he appeared, he was gone again. Micah Andrews, deep, dark circles around …
Continue reading Hideaway Fall Writing Challenge Day 13 – Harrowing
A few days late, but here's a dark story for day 12. *** The shrill call of the phone tore through the dark bedroom. Its incessant noise dragged him from his slumber, and earned a groan of annoyance from his wife. A phone call at this frankly ungodly hour could never be good. “Yeah? Uh …
Continue reading Hideaway Fall Writing Challenge Day 12 – Scintilla
The eleventh day of this challenge delivered me a theme that I really enjoyed writing a short story for. *** He wandered aimlessly through the dense forest. The chill in the air invigorated him, for he knew his season approached. Nervous eyes regarded him warily from a distance, animals ready to run. Leaves carpeted the …
Continue reading Hideaway Fall Writing Challenge Day 11 – Nyctophilia
Today is the tenth day of the challenge, and my eighth story. With this theme, I've come up with a ghostly little tale. *** The king was not a bad man. Naive, ignorant and often selfish, but by no means bad. At the very least, he was not malicious. He wasn’t greedy, or mean-spirited. He …
Continue reading Hideaway Fall Writing Challenge Day 10 – Poltergeist
Having struggled with inspiration for yesterday's theme, today I am back in the saddle. The story that came to me for today's theme ended up being a little darker. *** The landscape before him was scorched, razed to the ground. Skeletal trees and the ruins of a village charred black, smouldered in the cool morning …
Continue reading Hideaway Fall Writing Challenge Day 8 – Elderwich
Steven Smith 