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101 Word Short Stories

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Big Bertha

March 21, 2023 5 Comments

By Ben Wakefield

I named you after my ex-wife, Bertha, for obvious reasons.

She’d always complain we never spent enough time together, but now we’ve been together since growin’ season started.

Your seed come from a Spanish dealer—Atlantic Giant, since you asked. Fifty gallons of water a day and fertilized with a little somethin’ special. You’d started real pretty, but yer kinda deformed now.

The state record for pumpkin is 2,147 pounds, but I reckon you’re gonna beat that, hands down. You must be 2,300 already, and there’s still two weeks of summer left.

Sweet gourd, we couldn’t have done it without her.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Scott Bogart says

    March 21, 2023 at 10:41 am

    Love it! Made me laugh too.

    Scott

    Reply
  2. Chieh says

    March 21, 2023 at 2:20 pm

    Is it hinting that the wife was dead and buried under pumpkins?

    Just wonder if I read it right.

    Reply
    • Cathryn says

      March 24, 2023 at 3:30 pm

      Hello Chieh,
      I read it as you did. Great piece, isn’t it?!

      Reply
  3. Derek says

    March 22, 2023 at 4:31 am

    This is a grotesque tale in the tradition of horror stories. I liked it.

    Reply
  4. Paul Scott Wood says

    March 22, 2023 at 10:39 am

    Funny story. You seemed to describe both Berthas in the same paragraph.

    Reply

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