M.S. Edwards's Blog, page 2

p. 234 – After falling asleep on a twenty-hour bus ride to his mother’s house…

…a college student wakes up to discover he’s been on the wrong bus the entire time.

by Joe HoganGO!

“Hey, kid! Get up! End of the line!”

“Huh? What? Where — ?”

Shin scraped the sleep from his eyes and peered up, disoriented, at the scruffy bus driver who sported a decent five o’clock shadow. Shin envied men who could grow facial hair as easily as whipping it out to do their business at a public urinal. He also envied men who could transform fat into muscle just as easily, as this...

p. 174 – An elderly woman gets separated from her family…

…while traveling from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.

Photo by Kio on Pexels.comGO!

The car was stifling hot, both inside and out. The air conditioning had crapped out at mile fifty and the temperature had climbed exponentially at mile sixty-three. By the time they reached Primm, they were all panting like dogs and conversation had stilled to a miserable silence. The air smelled like sweat and unspoken recrimination.

Maeve Santos-Smith stared out the window from the back seat and watched ...

p. 116 – A father takes his young daughter shopping…

…for her first bra.

Photo by  Sora Shimazaki  from  Pexels GO!

When Dev Carruthers fell in love with Patrick Patel that fateful night Soggy Pockets opened for Vocal Large on their worldwide tour, he never expected that love would come in so many unexpected packages. At the time, he was firmly focused on Patrick’s lips and Patrick’s abs and Patrick’s gyrating behind, convinced that the spiraling heat in his belly was simply due to the stadium hot dog he’d gulped down in three seconds while ...

p. 22 – “He’s the cutest little boy.

Makes it much sadder, doesn’t it?”

Photo by  Scott Webb  from  Pexels GO!

“Why? Because his mom’s the antichrist?”

The ladies tittered at Penelope’s dig, even as they glanced Lilith’s way with knowing smirks to gauge her reaction. Lilith was having none of it. She tilted her chin up at the gaggle of women and turned her back on their judgmental eyes in a deliberate snub. They weren’t worth her time. Instead, she scanned the crowd for the little boy in question. Her shoulders sagged in r...

p. 154 – “Hello? Hello? I think the phone went dead…”

Photo by  Ralph W. lambrecht  from  Pexels GO!

When Marshall Farthingbottom walked into his office that fine Friday morning, the last thing on his mind was the end of the world. In fact, he was in a mood diametrically opposed to thinking about the end of the world. His coffee had percolated to the perfect temperature and consistency; his automated cab service had pulled up on time; the highways had miraculously cleared itself of traffic just as the sun peeked over the mountains, beaming down ...

p. 122 – “I jammed it in so hard…

…it got stuck in the bone. Do you know how hard it is to pull a knife out of a bone?”

Photo by  Mathias P.R. Reding  from  Pexels GO!

“Don’t care.”

“Typical.”

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Is the job done?”

The first haint grunted its affirmative even though it was quite clear that it didn’t take too kindly with the second haint’s rather brusque manner. Yes, they were mere underlings and yes, this was nothing more than a routine soul reaping cleanup, but it still expected a bit o...

p. 101 – two boys decide to play tricks…

…on their neighborhood after a recent string of bear attacks.

Photo by  Rasmus Svinding  from  Pexels GO!

When Rinaldo D’Este burst into the common room with a dramatic bang of the heavy oak doors against their equally heavy oak frames, no one so much as batted an eyelash. Disgruntled, the young man huffed out, pulling the doors closed behind him. Several seconds later, the doors were flung open again, just as dramatically as before but now accompanied by the loud and deliberate stomping o...

because “create” is the word of the year…

…but because I need a jumpstart to my creation process:

https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/creative-writing-prompts

I’m a bit behind schedule since the month is already half over, but better late than never. And since a strong contender for my word of the year was “kindness”, I’m gonna keep that in my back pocket and remind myself to be kind to me whenever I feel I’m failing at goals and challenges.

I also want to revise my approach for goals and challenges. Previously, the results w...

hold on, cookie! unfurl…

When Seamus watched the flag unfurl for the final time, his heart lurched with what he presumed was nostalgia but was perhaps just that last bite of bruschetta on a sourdough toast tip that Marge had procured from the depths of her stainless steel fridge.

The red and green monstrosity (flag, not bruschetta) snapped to attention once like a valiant soldier who knows his last tour will be fraught with peril but serves anyway because that’s what his country had brainwashed him to do. Seamus riffled...

Hold on, cookie! Unfurl…

When Seamus watched the flag unfurl for the final time, his heart lurched with what he presumed was nostalgia but was perhaps just that last bite of bruschetta on a sourdough toast tip that Marge had procured from the depths of her stainless steel fridge.

The red and green monstrosity (flag, not bruschetta) snapped to attention once like a valiant soldier who knows his last tour will be fraught with peril but serves anyway because thats what his country had brainwashed him to do. Seamus...