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101 Word Short Stories

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Old Polar Bear on Thinning Ice

November 10, 2024 22 Comments

By Sean MacKendrick

The tide waters are unseasonably warm. Plastic particulates sparkle in the waves reaching for a pair of shoes perched atop a folded pile of clothes on the beach. A key fob to an electric car sits in one shoe. Bifocals rest in the other.

The ocean won’t take these shoes tonight; a beachcomber will find them in the morning. A boater will find the body later.

Investigators will call it an accident, the result of an ill-advised moonlight swim. That conclusion will be incorrect. The truth is that the rising tide will drown everyone, eventually. Someone simply decided not to wait.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Michelle Mellon says

    November 10, 2024 at 6:42 am

    Lovely

    Reply
    • Sean MacKendrick says

      November 13, 2024 at 6:37 pm

      Thank you, Michelle!

      Reply
  2. Chris Lihou says

    November 10, 2024 at 10:54 am

    Brilliant story. Well said. I only wish I’d written it. Well done!

    Reply
    • Sean MacKendrick says

      November 13, 2024 at 6:38 pm

      Thank you, Chris!

      Reply
  3. Tamm Walters says

    November 10, 2024 at 12:35 pm

    I searched for more of your stories on this site because I loved this one so much! And loved the one I found just as much. Definitely an author whose work I want to follow!

    Reply
    • Sean MacKendrick says

      November 13, 2024 at 6:38 pm

      Wow, thank you, Tamm!

      Reply
  4. Lisa says

    November 10, 2024 at 12:59 pm

    Beautifully written and a great story.

    Reply
    • Sean MacKendrick says

      November 13, 2024 at 6:39 pm

      Thank you, Lisa!

      Reply
  5. Michael W King says

    November 13, 2024 at 7:27 am

    Sound like the opening of a great novel.

    Reply
    • Sean MacKendrick says

      November 13, 2024 at 6:41 pm

      That’s an interesting thought…

      Reply
  6. Janet says

    November 13, 2024 at 9:20 am

    Wow. Left me with icy chills ??

    Reply
    • Sean MacKendrick says

      November 13, 2024 at 6:42 pm

      That’s a great reaction. Thank you, Janet!

      Reply
  7. Ed Kratz says

    November 13, 2024 at 10:32 am

    Perfect story, Lean prose and great imagery like “plastic particulates sparkle,” and the connotative particles reaching for the shoes. Well done.

    Reply
    • Sean MacKendrick says

      November 13, 2024 at 6:42 pm

      Thank you very much, Ed!

      Reply
  8. Pat R. says

    November 13, 2024 at 11:33 am

    Well done! Felt like I was there and wanted to stop him… or her.

    Reply
    • Sean MacKendrick says

      November 13, 2024 at 6:43 pm

      Thank you, Pat!

      Reply
  9. Sue says

    November 13, 2024 at 11:55 am

    This definitely resonates with me.
    Poignant. A lot is revealed by the inclusion of bifocals and a key fob to an electric car.

    Reply
  10. Sean MacKendrick says

    November 13, 2024 at 6:43 pm

    Thank you, Sue!

    Reply
  11. Tracy says

    November 13, 2024 at 7:31 pm

    Every word essential. Final line especially apt. Love the thematic elements. A treat.

    Reply
  12. Margie says

    November 13, 2024 at 8:21 pm

    The second sentence in the second paragraph grabbed me with chills. Great job.

    Reply
  13. Kelly Louisa Balliu says

    November 14, 2024 at 2:32 pm

    Contains so much and says equally as much. A powerful final sentence. All comments are well deserved 🙂

    Reply
  14. Marie Barski says

    November 16, 2024 at 1:20 pm

    So good, wow.

    Reply

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