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101 Word Short Stories

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Farmer’s Sorrow

July 23, 2020 12 Comments

By David Derey

Purple lightning shot across the sky, that night old farmer Harrison wandered out to his cornfield. Newly widowed, with a bottle of Russian in his blood, he stopped below the grey cotton ball of thunder, raised the TV–antenna, and waited.

A bolt struck two feet away. He stretched himself and elevated the antenna.

Eventually, the cloud drifted away.

For a moment, antenna still in hand, Harrison contemplated the mistake he nearly made. He didn’t see the second thundercloud until it roared.

For weeks later, neighbors wondered why he wouldn’t step outside to remove that ugly, bird–infested scarecrow lying on his cornfield.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Constanée Malik Hemedi says

    July 23, 2020 at 7:13 am

    Poor farmer Harrison, but the story is great. So simple and yet dark.

    Reply
    • davidderey says

      July 23, 2020 at 10:57 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  2. M K Lee says

    July 23, 2020 at 7:31 am

    So vividly written, this is beautiful!

    Reply
    • davidderey says

      July 23, 2020 at 10:57 am

      Thank you very much.

      Reply
  3. pscholz0412 says

    July 23, 2020 at 7:45 am

    So many twists. Awesome!

    Reply
    • davidderey says

      July 23, 2020 at 10:58 am

      My sincere thanks.

      Reply
    • Brian says

      July 23, 2020 at 3:57 pm

      Fantastic story with a creepy and sad ending.

      Reply
      • davidderey says

        July 24, 2020 at 6:38 am

        Thank you, Brian!

        Reply
  4. Raymond Sloan says

    July 23, 2020 at 3:02 pm

    Great story, David.

    Reply
    • davidderey says

      July 23, 2020 at 3:41 pm

      Thank you very – very much

      Reply
  5. Stella Klein says

    July 24, 2020 at 3:54 am

    Short and dark. Left its trace in my mind since reading.

    Reply
    • davidderey says

      July 24, 2020 at 6:39 am

      Thank you very much

      Reply

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