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101 Word Short Stories

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Five Steps to Thursday

January 31, 2026 2 Comments

By Michael T Keyser

The announcement came in every form and every language. Few remembered from which source they’d heard the news. It was the same everywhere—no opinions, biases, or debates: ‘The World Ends Thursday.’

In denial, we raged against imagined masters pulling dark strings. None were found.

Angry streets burned. Abandoned stone monoliths of authority were battered. Our leaders had simply gone home.

We made bargains with our gods and devils. Our contracts returned unopened.

Depression discarded our fairies, our hopes, our dreams of magical endings.

With fate accepted, it was with peace that we watched our stars blink and fade to black.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Alan Moskowitz says

    February 5, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    Someone once wrote, “Do not go gently into that good night.” Here’s prime example in a mere 101 words. Good job!

    Reply
    • Michael Keyser says

      February 7, 2026 at 2:50 pm

      Thank you, Alan

      Reply

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