Win Cash Prizes & Get Professional Feedback @ Flash Fiction Magazine
Learn More
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

101 Words

101 Word Short Stories

  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Volunteer

Degrees of Separation

March 13, 2026 9 Comments

By Scott S

She wore scarves in August and claimed the fridge was “drafty.” He lived in shorts, fanned himself with junk mail, and sweated through Thanksgiving. Their thermostat battles were legendary, fraught with sabotage, secret programming, decoy remotes.

Then one day, their bodies betrayed them. She began fanning herself with cereal boxes. He googled “electric blankets.”

By retirement, she slept with ice packs; he layered like an onion. The thermostat remained fixed at seventy-one degrees, a fragile treaty.

Guests brought overcoats and swimsuits, unsure what to expect.

Love endures many incompatibilities. Their love survived hot flashes, cold snaps, and each other’s thermostatic shenanigans.

Share this:

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram
  • Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • Share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on Nextdoor (Opens in new window) Nextdoor
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

The Power of Imagery with Nina Schuyler

September 12 & 13 on Zoom
Enrollment closes Thursday, September 3 at 7:00 PM Pacific

If your descriptions are vivid but your stories still feel thin, this workshop is for you.

Join award-winning author Nina Schuyler to learn the difference between description, which tells a reader what things look like, and imagery, which carries plot, character, and meaning at the same time.

In just two days, you'll learn to choose images that hold emotion without naming it, pair them so each one deepens the other, and build patterns that gather meaning as the story moves.

Learn More and Enroll

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kerri says

    March 13, 2026 at 9:54 am

    Relatable and well written. Cute story, I enjoyed it.

    Reply
    • scott soodek says

      March 13, 2026 at 5:04 pm

      Thank you Kerri

      Reply
  2. Fran says

    March 13, 2026 at 12:03 pm

    You keep writing and I’ll keep reading!!
    Congratulations!!

    Reply
    • scott soodek says

      March 13, 2026 at 5:04 pm

      Thank you Fran

      Reply
  3. ron friedman says

    March 13, 2026 at 3:20 pm

    Well done, Scott. Enjoyed every syllable and each character.

    Reply
    • scott soodek says

      March 13, 2026 at 5:05 pm

      Thank you Ron

      Reply
  4. Lavonne says

    March 18, 2026 at 10:18 am

    Only too real!
    Loved your switch.
    Thanks for the chuckle, after a night being too hot ?

    Reply
  5. Patti R. says

    March 18, 2026 at 12:28 pm

    This is really good! Such an everyday topic written with humor and beautifully crafted word use!

    Reply
  6. Karen Kinley says

    March 31, 2026 at 8:00 pm

    Love this! My husband and I battle the thermostat as well. Very relatable!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search Stories

The end.